The Carolina Curator

The Common Curator Launches

2010-09-06T19:10:00.016-04:00

The Common Curator blog has recently superseded the Carolina Curator, which was previously cited by OnlineUniversities.com as one of the "100 Best Curator and Museum Blogs." After approximately 220 postings on a wide variety of topics since its inception in December 2008, all the content of the Carolina Curator has been incorporated into the Common Curator blog, which will continue in much the same--if broader--vein to document developments in the history of the health sciences, digital libraries, archives, museums, and special collections, as well as tend other issues of import, such as freedom of information, open access, preservation and conservation, public policy, human rights, etc.

All readers of the Carolina Curator are encouraged to follow the Common Curator by visiting the blog's website, or by subscribing to its RSS feed with Google Reader, Bloglines, or your favorite RSS reader. In addition to the new blog, the Common Curator also has a presence on other social media, including Delicious, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.

So, thanks for your collective interest and comments--hope to continue hearing from you at the Common Curator!

Ask a Curator Day

2010-09-01T07:29:00.003-04:00

September 1, 2010 is "Ask a Curator Day," a one-time worldwide Question & Answer event on Twitter. Modelled on the successful Follow a Museum event on February 1, 2010, users of Twitter can post questions to participating curators of art, history, science, and other collections at #askacurator. A list of individuals and institutions from over 20 countries available for questions can be viewed here.

New Consortium for History of Medicine Finding Aids

2010-08-31T22:21:00.004-04:00

The History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the release of its prototype History of Medicine Finding Aids Consortium, a search-and-discovery tool for archival resources in the health sciences that are described by finding aids and held by various institutions throughout the United States.

The new resource crawls existing Web content managed by partner institutions, provides keyword search functionality, and provides results organized by holding institution. Links point to the holding institution's Web sites. Formats indexed consist of HTML, PDF and Encoded Archival Description XML. The project does not include content held in bibliographic utilities or other database-type information. Crawls are conducted monthly to ensure information is current and to capture new content as it is released.

Current Consortium partners are:

-- NLM History of Medicine Division, Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program
-- Columbia University Health Center Library Archives and Special Collections
-- Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
-- University of California-San Francisco Library Archives and Special Collections
-- University of Virginia Health Sciences Library Historical Collections
-- Virginia Commonwealth University Tompkins-McCaw Library Special Collections and Archives

NLM's History of Medicine Division invites libraries, archives and museums which include in their collections archival materials related to the history of medicine and health sciences to join.

For more information about the project or requests to join the Consortium, please contact John P. Rees, Archivist and Digital Resources Manager, NLM, at reesj@nlm.nih.gov, or visit the Consortium's web site.

"The Gross Clinic" Restored and on Exhibition

2010-08-31T21:44:00.007-04:00

"An Eakins Masterpiece Restored: Seeing The Gross Clinic Anew" is an exhibition currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that will run through January 9, 2011. It features Thomas Eakins' famous painting of 1875, Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), which has recently undergone a major restoration effort.

The large-scale painting (measuring 8' by 6'6") was purchased by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with the support of over 3,500 donors in 2007 after its previous longtime owner, the Jefferson Medical College (Dr. Gross' alma mater), proposed its sale to museums outside Philadelphia.

The Museum's web site provides much detailed technical and historical information about the painting's conservation treatments over the decades, and dramatically documents the painting's evolving appearance. The image depicted here reflects its current state.

New Curator for Duke History of Medicine Collections

2010-08-29T21:55:00.005-04:00

Rachel C. Ingold has been appointed the new Curator for the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University Medical Center Library. She will start September 1, 2010. The previous Curator, Suzanne Porter, retired at the end of July after a long and successful career at Duke, UNC, and other institutions.

Prior to this appointment, Rachel has served in the Conservation Unit in the Duke University Libraries, as an intern at the EPA Library, as an intern the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, and as a Library Technician at the Library of Congress. She has nearly 13 years worth of experience in a library setting.

Rachel holds a BA in Political Science and a BA in Women's Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MA in Women's Studies from George Washington University, and an MLS from North Carolina Central University. She is a member of the America Library Association and the Special Library Association.

Truman G. Blocker, Jr. History of Medicine Fellowship

2010-08-29T21:33:00.002-04:00

The Moody Medical Library of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston is pleased to offer the Truman G. Blocker, Jr. Fellowship to support research related to the history of medicine conducted at the Moody Medical Library.

The Truman G. Blocker, Jr. Fellowship will provide between $2,000 and $4,000 per year to support travel, lodging and incidental expenses for the period between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011. Upon completion the recipient will deliver a paper at the University of Texas Medical Branch outlining the research, provide an expense report and a copy of the final research product. The University of Texas Medical Branch also reserves the right to post excerpts from the work, a photograph and biographical material of the Fellow on its website.

The fellowship proposal must demonstrate that the Truman G. Blocker, Jr. History of Medicine Collections contain resources central to the proposed topic. These collections consist of over 18,000 titles and 10,000 pamphlets and reprints documenting the development of Western medicine and allied sciences. The Moody Medical Library's holdings of books printed prior to 1501 place it among the top medical sciences libraries in the United States. Collection strengths include fundamental and secondary works in anatomy and surgery, anesthesiology, immunology, and occupational medicine. The Titus Harris Collection of the History of Psychiatry maintains over 4,500 volumes and is considered one of the most comprehensive accumulations of works on the subject.

The archival collections housed at the Moody Medical Library are among the largest and most significant in the history of the biomedical sciences in the southern United States. These collections provide records of state and national organizations, and professional societies in medicine and related fields in addition to the private and professional papers of University of Texas Medical Branch faculty, staff, students and alumni. An inclusive list of these archives may be found at the Texas Archival Resources Online website.

While preference will be given to applicants who live beyond commuting distance of Galveston, all are encouraged to apply, including graduate students. Applicants should submit a fellowship proposal outlining the subject and objectives of the research project and historical materials to
be used, (not to exceed 2 pages), a project budget including travel, lodging and research expenses, curriculum vitae and two letters of recommendation by November 1st, 2010. Award decisions will be made by December 1st, 2010.

Applications should be mailed to:

Robert O. Marlin IV, Archivist
Truman G. Blocker, Jr. History of Medicine Collections
Moody Medical Library
University of Texas Medical Branch
301 University Blvd.
Galveston, TX 77555-1035

Call for Papers: Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science

2010-08-29T21:22:00.003-04:00

The Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science (SAHMS) invites paper proposals for its thirteenth annual meeting on March 4-5, 2011, at the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, sponsored by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Library.

SAHMS welcomes papers on the history of medicine and science, broadly construed to encompass historical, literary, anthropological, philosophical and sociological approaches to health care and science including race, disabilities and gender studies. Participants may propose individual papers or panels of several papers on a particular theme. The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2010.

Each presenter is limited to 20 minutes, with additional time for questions and discussion. Please do not submit papers that have already been published, presented or scheduled for presentation at another meeting. All participants are responsible for their own travel expenses and must pay registration costs in advance of the meeting. Student travel awards are available each year; for more information, contact SAHMS President Michael Flannery at flannery@uab.edu.

To submit proposals, please visit the online submission site. Required elements for the online proposals include Title, Purpose Statement, Rationale and Significance, Methodology, Sources, Findings & Conclusions, and Three Learning Objectives. For questions or problems with the submission site, contact Richard Nollan (rnollan@uthsc.edu) or Lisa Pruitt (lpruitt@mtsu.edu).

An Odyssey of Knowledge: A New Online Exhibition from the National Library of Medicine

2010-07-16T14:21:00.009-04:00

"An Odyssey of Knowledge: Medieval Manuscripts and Early Printed Books from the National Library of Medicine," is a new online exhibition at the National Library of Medicine by visiting curator Dr. Alain Touwaide of the Smithsonian Institution. As described on the exhibition web site:

Medicine in the Old World arose from many components: the classical Greek tradition, its Christian re-elaboration, the contributions of the Arabic World, and the unique medieval synthesis of them all. By examining significant pages and illuminations from manuscripts and early printed books of the National Library of Medicine, one can see how these cultures contributed to the creation of medical knowledge in Europe.

The exhibition is organized by the following sections: Greek Medicine and Science in the Early Middle Ages; The Arabic Contribution; A Crossroad of Knowledge: Southern Italy; The Spread of Translation; From Translation To Teaching; Diffusion; The Return of Greek; and The Many Uses of Books and Texts.

The collections of the National Library of Medicine include 90 Western manuscripts written before 1601. Many of the Library's manuscripts are recorded in Dorothy M. Schullian and Francis E. Sommer, A Catalogue of Incunabula and Manuscripts in the Army Medical Library (1950), and Seymour De Ricci and W.J. Wilson, Census of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the United States and Canada (1935–1940), with a supplement by C.U. Faye and W.H. Bond in 1962.

Note: The image above depicts an illuminated manuscript initial with two physicians in conversation (Paris, 13th century); it is from the National Library of Medicine's Manuscript E 78, folio 35 recto.

The Future of the History of Medicine Conference

2010-07-13T22:44:00.006-04:00

The Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine is hosting a three-day international conference on The Future of the History of Medicine from July 15-17, 2010. The scope, breadth, and viability of the field as a whole in the 21st Century will be discussed in Panel Sessions on The Neurological Turn, The Cultures of Food, The Place of Non-Humans in the Project of Medical Humanism, Asian Medicine, and Global Health. The list of speakers as well as the final program are available online.

As reported in several earlier posts, the Wellcome Centre for the History of Medicine is slated for closure. An online petition to "Save History of Medicine at UCL" recently concluded with over 4,100 supporters. Details on the petition are being collated and a summary of the main points is being prepared for submission to both the Wellcome Trust and University College London.

Call for Papers: Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science

2010-07-13T22:20:00.003-04:00

The Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science (SAHMS) invites paper proposals for its thirteenth annual meeting on March 4-5, 2011, at the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, sponsored by the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Library.

SAHMS welcomes papers on the history of medicine and science, broadly construed to encompass historical, literary, anthropological, philosophical and sociological approaches to health care and science including race, disabilities and gender studies. Participants may propose individual papers of panels of several papers on a particular theme.

Each presenter is limited to 20 minutes, with additional time for questions and discussion. Please do not submit papers that have already been published, presented or scheduled for presentation at another meeting. All participants are responsible for their own travel expenses and must pay registration costs in advance of the meeting. Student travel awards are available each year; for more information, contact SAHMS President Michael Flannery at flannery@uab.edu.

To submit proposals, please visit the online submission site. The deadline is September 30, 2010. Required elements for the online proposals include Title, Purpose Statement, Rationale and Significance, Methodology, Sources, Findings & Conclusions, and Three Learning Objectives. For questions or problems with the submission site, contact Richard Nollan (rnollan@uthsc.edu) or Lisa Pruitt (lpruitt@mtsu.edu).

Call for Papers: American Association for the History of Medicine

2010-07-08T17:11:00.002-04:00

The American Association for the History of Medicine invites submissions in any area of medical history for its 84th annual meeting, to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania April 28 through May 1, 2011. The Association welcomes submissions on the history of health and healing; history of medical ideas, practices, and institutions; and histories of illness, disease, and public health. Submissions from all eras and regions of the world are welcome. In addition to single-paper proposals, the Program Committee accepts abstracts for sessions and for luncheon workshops. Please alert the Program Committee Chair if you are planning a session proposal. Individual papers for these submissions will be judged on their own merits.

Presentations are limited to 20 minutes. Individuals wishing to present a paper must attend the meeting. All papers must represent original work not already published or in press. Because the Bulletin of the History of Medicine is the official journal of the AAHM, the Association encourages speakers to make their manuscripts available for consideration by the Bulletin.

The AAHM uses an online abstract submissions system. We encourage all applicants to use this convenient software. A link for submissions will be posted to the AAHM website. Abstracts must be received by September 15, 2010.

If you are unable to submit proposals online, send eight copies of a one-page abstract (350 words maximum) to the Program Committee Chair, Susan E. Lederer (selederer@wisc.edu; tel: 608.262.4195), Dept. of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, 1300 University Ave. Madison, WI 53706.

When proposing a historical argument, state the major claim, summarize the evidence supporting the claim, and state the major conclusion(s). When proposing a narrative, summarize the story, identify the major agents, and specify the conflict. Please provide the following information on the same sheet as the abstract: name, preferred mailing address, work and home telephone numbers, e-mail address, present institutional affiliation, and academic degrees.

Guide to the History of Medicine and the Health Sciences

2010-07-03T09:14:00.003-04:00

A guide to selected resources in the history of medicine and the health sciences is available at the Special Collections web site at UNC Health Sciences Library; a PDF version is also available for download. While not a comprehensive compendium, the guide contains links to scores of useful tools and research materials at UNC and at other institutions around the United States and abroad. Organized by section, it covers the following areas of interest:

— Professional & Scholarly Associations
— Libraries
— Online & Print Catalogs
— Classification Schemes & Catalog Searching
— Digital Collections
— Online Exhibitions
— Aggregator Sites
— Listservs & Blogs
— Bookdealers, Antiquarians & Auction Houses
— Dissertations
— Oral Histories
— Museums
— Archives & Manuscripts
— UNC Special Collections
— UNC Online Resources & Guides
— Online Journals
— Selected Books & References
— Digitization
— Preservation & Conservation
— Book Collecting
— Information Management
— Funding & Opportunities

A guide to researching Public Health at UNC is available online as well.

HSL Special Collections and Social Media

2010-06-26T13:20:00.010-04:00

:: Special Collections at UNC Health Sciences Library

— Special Collections Website
— About Special Collections
— Exhibitions
— Digital Collections
— Historical Collections
— Archival Collections
— Oral History
— Donor Collections
— Highlights
— Guide to Research Resources
— Search Library Catalogs
— UNC Health Affairs History
— Friends of HSL

:: The Carolina Curator

— The Carolina Curator Blog
— The Carolina Curator on Delicious
— The Carolina Curator on Facebook
— The Carolina Curator on Flickr
— The Carolina Curator on Twitter

:: The Bullitt Club

— Bullitt History of Medicine Club
— Bullitt Lectures on iTunes [navigate to School of Medicine] [direct link]

:: Mobile

— Mobile Options for UNC
— Mobile for UNC Libraries
— Mobile for National Library of Medicine

Note: The image above was created using the image utility at Wordle.

UNC Health Sciences Library Awarded Digitization Grant

2010-06-21T22:46:00.012-04:00

Special Collections at UNC Health Sciences Library has recently been awarded $42,675 for year two of a three-year NC ECHO digitization grant project for the creation of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection. Funded by the State Library of North Carolina through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the 2010-11 awards were announced June 10, 2010 and totalled $4.9 million for statewide library projects; the complete list of awards, including others at UNC, is available at the LSTA web site.

Work on the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection commenced with a pilot project over two years ago, and through year one of the grant project (FY 09-10), over 130,000 pages of core journals and books in medicine, public health, dentistry, pharmacy, and nursing from 1849 to the present have been digitized. The digital collection will eventually grow to over 800 volumes and approximately 300,000 pages. This material thoroughly documents the development of health care and the health professions within North Carolina and is thus a significant part of the state’s cultural heritage and history.

While digitized content is also being made available via the Internet Archive, the project is actively developing an integrated web site that will provide consolidated online access and advanced searching functionalities. The digital collection will moreover provide historical context for the resources in the various health disciplines and K-12 educational materials for selected content. A glimpse of public health images from the digital collection is available via Flickr.

Daniel Smith, Special Collections Librarian at UNC Health Sciences Library, is the principal investigator and project manager, and has directed each phase of the grant. Partners in the project include the Carolina Digital Library and Archive, the UNC Library, and Learn NC.

Note: The image above is from the Health Bulletin (1927), v. 42, n. 2, p. 1, published by the North Carolina State Board of Health.

Five Centuries of North Carolina Maps Now Online

2010-06-21T12:40:00.002-04:00

More than 3,200 historic maps of North Carolina are now available online as part of the digital North Carolina Maps project, set to be completed June 30, 2010

Visitors to the North Carolina Maps site can see the results of a three-year collaborative project to identify and scan nearly every original map of the state published from 1584 to 1923. The collection also contains maps of every North Carolina county and maps published by the state through the year 2000.

The North Carolina Collection in the Wilson Special Collections Library collaborated to produce the new site with the North Carolina State Archives and the Outer Banks History Center in Manteo. The UNC Library and the State Archives scanned the maps, and the Library hosts and administers the site.

Read more . . . .

2010 North Carolina Book Awards

2010-06-15T16:40:00.003-04:00

The North Carolina Literary and Historical Association (NCLHA), established in 1900, has issued a call for entries for the 2010 North Carolina Book Awards. Several different competitions are now open, including the Hardee Rives Award for Dramatic Arts, the Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction (successor to the Mayflower Cup), the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry, the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, and the American Association of University Women Award for Juvenile Literature.

To be eligible for consideration, a work must meet the following criteria:

-- It must be an original book published during the twelve months ending June 30 of the year for which the award is given;

-- Its author(s) must have maintained legal or physical residence, or a combination of both, in North Carolina for the three years preceding the close of the contest period; and

-- Three (3) copies of each entry must be submitted to the Awards Coordinator for the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association.

Additional guidelines are available on the NCLHA web site. The deadline for receipt of nominated books is July 15, 2010.

Other related awards include the Christopher Crittenden Memorial Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the preservation of North Carolina history, and the R. Hunt Parker Memorial Award, which acknowledges literary contributions. At the annual meeting each year the Historical Society of North Carolina presents the R. D. W. Connor Award for the best article to have appeared in the North Carolina Historical Review in the preceding year and the Hugh T. Lefler Award for the best paper by an undergraduate student.

Visit the NCLHA web site for further information about the Association, which is among the oldest of its kind in the nation.

Resources for Oil Spill Disasters and Health

2010-06-15T14:55:00.002-04:00

As part of its Disaster Information Management Research Center, the National Library of Medicine provides access to disaster management information resources, projects, and programs. One of its newest additions is a set of disaster preparedness and response resources related to crude oil spills and health. This site features sections for current awareness; occupational hazards; dispersants; food contamination; government agencies; wildlife protection; social media; as well as resources from the National Library of Medicine and in foreign languages.

The Internet Archive Book Drive

2010-06-15T11:50:00.003-04:00

The Internet Archive has been scanning books for some years now, and we're always looking for more. In addition to 1,000,000+ eBooks available to anyone available through Open Library, we've announced the release of modern books for the print-disabled community in a special format called DAISY. It's a brand new collection--one of the largest available online. For too long, print-disabled people have been denied access to the full breadth of contemporary books, and we'd like to assist in tipping that balance back to where it should be, universal access for all readers.

Please help us by donating books to be scanned or with financial support for the scanning process. Based on existing foundation funding, we are sponsoring the scanning of the first 10,000 books that are donated in this Book Drive. We're looking for wonderful and important books for this first 10,000 and even more books and money to keep it going. We will make these digital books as available to the world as we can, including the print-disabled, and will preserve the physical book for the long term.

How Does The Book Drive Work?
You can simply send up to 100 books or drop them off in person at our headquarters:

Internet Archive Book Drive
300 Funston Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94118

If you'd like to make a donation of more than 100 books, wow! That would be wonderful, but please give us a call on +1 415-561-6767 to arrange shipping and handling.

Read more . . . .

Physicians' Lives in the Shenandoah Valley

2010-06-15T11:14:00.003-04:00

The National Library of Medicine's Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program (AMMP) in the History of Medicine Division is pleased to announce the launch of a new digital texts site, Physicians' Lives in the Shenandoah Valley, a collection of 828 letters dating between 1786-1907. It is drawn from the Henkel Family Letters collection covering more than a century of life in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

The Henkel family settled in New Market, Virginia in 1790. Generations of fathers and sons studied medicine. Over the course of their careers, these physicians ministered to their community, tended to their countrymen on the battlefield, and testified in the nation's courts of law. The letters of the Henkel family richly document the daily life of men in medicine in the nineteenth century and reveal the challenges of the profession as well as the rewards and responsibilities. Their writings colorfully represent the range of events in everyday life, from the minute details of local issues to the national crisis of the Civil War. The missives convey the concerns and characters of the authors, vividly illustrating the writers' personalities, and their experiences as physicians.

The site contains the complete collection of transcribed letters alongside images of the originals. Curators normalized the majority of place names, general subject terms, and MeSH terms (Medical Subject Headings) to aid searching and browsing. The original spellings are enhanced by pop-up window links that display the normalized phrase. All spellings and verbiage are those of the original writers; no editorial interventions were made, although some layouts differ to enhance readability.

Edward G. Holley, National Library Leader, Dies at 83

2010-06-11T09:07:00.005-04:00

One of the most outstanding leaders in 20th century American librarianship, Dr. Edward G. Holley, died peacefully Thursday, February 18 in Durham, North Carolina. A highly respected dean and professor at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1972 to 1985 and William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor from 1989 until he retired from the School in 1995, Dr. Holley was known as a giant in the library world.

Holley was born in 1927 in Pulaski, Tenn. In 1949 he earned a B.A. in English from David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tenn. He then received an M.A. in library science in 1951 from George Peabody College for Teachers, also in Nashville. In 1961 Holley completed a Ph.D. in library science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He began his professional
academic career at the University of Houston, and he spent nine years in Texas before coming to Chapel Hill in 1972 to assume the position of dean and professor in UNC at Chapel Hill's SILS.

Holley served as president of the American Library Association (ALA) from 1974-75 and received nearly every major award his profession bestowed, notable among them the ALA Scarecrow Press Award for his published dissertation, Charles Evans, American Bibliographer (1964); the ALA Melvil Dewey Award (1983); the ALA Joseph Lippincott Award (1987); Distinguished Alumnus Awards (Peabody Library School, Vanderbilt University, 1987;
Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 1988); the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award (Association of College and Research Libraries, 1988); and the Beta Phi Mu Award (1992). In 1994, he was honored with a festschrift, For the Good of the Order: Essays in Honor of Edward G. Holley, the title bearing
witness to his tireless professional devotion.

An eminent historian, Holley produced over 100 books, articles and essays on topics as diverse as library biography, the history of library education, copyright, library administration and the place of personal morality in public life. He served on countless high level committees,
worked for accreditation standards, defended the MLS, testified before Congressional committees and acted as library consultant. As ALA president during turbulent times (1974-1975), he was largely responsible for establishing a federated system for ALA ("every tub on its own bottom").

While dean of SILS, Holley established a doctoral program, hired distinguished faculty and expanded the master's program to two years, providing a core curriculum known famously to students during his years as "The Block." In 1975 he established the internship program at the Environmental Protection Agency Library that still exists today. As professor and advisor, he was an inspiration to his students.

"Ed was not only a distinguished professional, but also a caring and compassionate individual," said Dr. Barbara B. Moran, interim dean of SILS. "He was one of the most unselfish people I ever met and was always concerned with the good of others. He was a wonderful mentor and someone who cared deeply about the students, the faculty and the School. Using his own term, he always put the "good of the order" before his individual needs. He was truly a remarkable person and one who will be missed deeply by those who had the opportunity to know him."

Dr. Holley was preceded in death by his wife, Bobbie Lee Holley. He is survived by four children, Gailon Holley, Jens Holley, Amy Holley and Beth Holley; and three grandchildren, Melody Holley, Faith Holley and Julia Ruth.

A memorial service for Dr. Holley, will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at Gerrard Hall on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus.

A reception in the historic Queen Anne Faculty Lounge at the UNC Campus YMCA (next to Gerrard Hall) will immediately follow the memorial service. All who would like to join the family are invited to attend.

Gifts in memory of Dr. Holley may be directed to the "Edward G. Holley Student Research Fund" at SILS. For more information on how to make donations in Dr. Holley's name, please contact the SILS office at 919-843-8337 or send e-mail to wmonroe@unc.edu.

Note: Portions of this news story have been reprinted from "Interview with Edward G. Holley" by Tommy Nixon, which was published in North Carolina Libraries, 56(2), Summer 1998, p.65-70.)

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

2010-06-09T11:06:00.004-04:00

The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center is a new, statewide digitization and digital publishing program housed in the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Center operates in conjunction with the State Library of North Carolina's NC ECHO (North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online) project. It is supported by the State Library of North Carolina with funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act.

There are several projects currently available at the Center's website:

:: North Carolina College and University Yearbooks. Images and full-text searching are available for student yearbooks from several schools, including Appalachian State, Elon, Elizabeth City State, East Carolina, Meredith College, Louisburg College, UNC-Greensboro, and UNC-Chapel Hill. There will be many more schools added soon.

:: Images of North Carolina. This collection features images of original materials from a variety of institutions, including the Orange County Historical Museum, the Sallie Mae Ligon Museum and Archives at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, and UNC-Chapel Hill.

:: Durham Urban Renewal Records. Records from the Durham County Library documenting the urban redevelopment of Durham in the 1960s and 1970s.

:: Digital Davie. Historic photographs from the Davie County Public Library documenting people and places in Davie County.

:: Wilson County's Greatest Generation: The Memories of the World War II Veterans of Wilson County, N.C. This collection was compiled by the Wilson County Historical Society and consists of photographs, documents, and personal recollections of many of the men and women from Wilson County who served in World War II.

Visit often, as new materials are being added to all of these projects on a regular basis. We will also continue to develop new projects, and look forward to working with more libraries, archives, and museums around the state to share their resources online.

Please feel free to contact Nicholas Graham, Program Coordinator, with any questions (ngraham@unc.edu or 919-962-4836).

Study of Open Access Publishing Project

2010-06-07T13:10:00.004-04:00

A survey is being conducted by the Study of Open Access Publishing (SOAP) project, financed by the European Commission. The study is investigating publishing practices and attitudes towards Open Access publishing. More information about the SOAP project can be found on the project's public website.

The survey is primarily aimed at active researchers in public and private organisations, from all fields of the research in the sciences and humanities. It focuses on publication of research articles in peer-reviewed journals. All responses will be confidential and submitted anonymously. It should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Results will be made publicly available in the second half of 2010.

The SOAP consortium represents key stakeholders such as publishers (BioMed Central Ltd (BMC), Sage Publications Ltd (SAGE) UK and Springer Science+Business Media Deutschland GmbH (SSBM)), funding agencies (Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) UK), libraries (Max Planck Digital Library of the Max Planck Society) and a broad spectrum of research disciplines.

It aims to study the new open access business models that have emerged as a result of the shift from print to digital documents and inform the European Commission and all stakeholders about the risks, opportunities and essential requirements for a smooth transition to open access publishing.

Beyond Impact Factor: Panel & Discussion

2010-06-01T09:52:00.002-04:00

Beyond Impact Factor: Understanding & Supporting Scholarly Work in the New Academy
Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 9am-12:30pm
Pleasants Family Assembly Room, Wilson Library, UNC

The UNC Libraries' Scholarly Communications Committee invites you to a half-day panel and discussion, exploring alternative forms of scholarly output and their impact on academia. Please register by Friday, June 4. Beverages and refreshments will be served.

Panelists include:

Gary Marchionini (moderator), Dean, School of Information and Library Science, UNC
Phil Edwards, Instructor in School of Information and Library Science, UNC
Molly Keener, Scholarly Communications Librarian, Wake Forest University
Erin O'Meara, Electronic Records Archivist, UNC
Kevin Smith, Scholarly Communications Officer, Duke

Winner of 2010 McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine

2010-06-01T09:06:00.005-04:00

Chailee Mann-Stadt, a third-year MD student in the UNC School of Medicine, is the winner of the third annual McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine. Sponsored by the Bullitt History of Medicine Club, the essay competition carries a $500 prize that is funded by UNC alumni S. Gregory Boyd (MD '03, JD '04) and Laura Boyd (JD '02). The award honors Dr. William McLendon and Dr. Colin Thomas, Jr. and recognizes scholarly excellence in the history of the health sciences.

Chailee's winning essay was entitled, "Drs. Dewey and Milligan: Early Women in American Medicine," and she will be delivering a presentation to the Bullitt Club during the lecture series for 2010-11.

The essay competition is open to all UNC-Chapel Hill students in the health sciences: medicine, pharmacy, public health, dentistry, nursing, and allied health sciences. The next deadline for submissions is April 1, 2011; for further information, please see the competition guidelines.

:: Greg and Laura Boyd live in New York City, where he is an attorney with Davis & Gilbert LLP and she is professional photographer. Greg considers the history of medicine to be one of the most important aspects of his medical education and Drs. McClendon and Thomas among the best role models possible. They both strongly believe that the history of medicine represents a critical perspective and focus on the art of medicine that are necessary for training the best possible physicians, health care executives, and policy makers.

:: Dr. William W. McLendon served from 1973-1995 at UNC as Director of the Hospital Clinical Laboratories and as Professor and Vice-Chair of Pathology. Since his retirement in 1995 he has been Professor Emeritus of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. An MD graduate of UNC in 1956, he and Bob Whitlock (MD '57) were the student co-founders in 1954 of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club. Dr. McLendon is the co-author, along with the late Drs. William Blythe and Floyd Denny, of the recently published Bettering the Health of the People: W. Reece Berryhill, the UNC School of Medicine, and the North Carolina Good Health Movement.

:: Dr. Colin G. Thomas, Jr. joined the faculty of the UNC School of Medicine in 1952, and is currently Byah Thomason-Sanford Doxey Professor of Surgery. From 1966-1984 he served as Chair of the Department of Surgery, and from 1984-1989 as Chief of the Division of General Surgery. Dr. Thomas was one of the early faculty members of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club, and is the co-author, along with Mary Jane Kagarise, of the 1997 history, Legends and Legacies: A Look Inside: Four Decades of Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1952-1993.

:: For more information on the Bullitt Club and mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the Bullitt Club website.

The Internet Tidal Wave -- Then and Now

2010-05-26T14:36:00.007-04:00

"The Internet Tidal Wave" was the subject of a memorandum delivered to Microsoft executives and other staff by Bill Gates fifteen years ago today, on May 26, 1995. The memo is supplied in its entirety on Wired Magazine's This Day in Tech, and is remarkable both for its prescience and for its observations that from today's vantage seem almost quaint, such as the following:

Most important is that the Internet has bootstrapped itself as a place to publish content. It has enough users that it is benefiting from the positive feedback loop of the more users it gets, the more content it gets, and the more content it gets, the more users it gets. I encourage everyone on the executive staff and their direct reports to use the Internet.

The memo was made available as a trial exhibit in a District Court filing for the antitrust case, United States v. Microsoft.

Journal Cancellations Review for UNC Health Sciences Library

2010-05-25T18:53:00.003-04:00

The UNC Health Sciences Library (HSL) is preparing for reductions to the FY 2010/2011 acquisitions budget. As a result, we are again reviewing all areas of purchasing and asking publishers to keep price increases to a minimum for 2011. However, the primary strategy for finding reductions is to continue the 2009 comprehensive review of active journal subscriptions. Approximately 95 percent of HSL’s acquisitions budget is spent on journal or database subscriptions. To achieve budget reductions we must lower this recurring annual expense through targeted cancellations.

Last year, 670 users helped us evaluate our subscriptions and we need even more help this year. During the next couple of months we plan to post a list of potential journal cancellations and to ask for feedback. Here is some preliminary information about this review effort, which is also available via the Journal Review homepage:

Cancellation Criteria
Timeline
FAQ

Our goal is the same as for 2009: to keep as much valued content available as possible, minimizing negative impact on our community of users, while still achieving our budget reduction targets. Please keep checking the Journal Review homepage for updates and changes, and your opportunity to provide feedback. We value all feedback received and use it to help make the best decisions possible.

The 2009 review process helped greatly to reduce recurring annual expenses. Through extensive feedback from the UNC Chapel Hill Health Affairs community and beyond, and through aggressive negotiations with journal publishers for better pricing, we were able to cancel only 58 titles. We also implemented other changes to save costs, such as converting more journal subscriptions from print plus online to online only. However, these savings will not carry the HSL through another budget reduction in 2010/2011, so the comprehensive review continues.

While the need to reduce the acquisitions budget is driven partly by current economic conditions, carrying out a journals cancellation review is normal library practice, done most recently in 2009 and 2003. Furthermore, our acquisitions budget cannot keep pace with the annual price increases for journals in the health sciences, as the average cost of a health sciences journal is now $1,400.

First National VIVO Conference: Enabling National Networking of Scientists

2010-05-25T10:54:00.003-04:00

Enabling National Networking of Scientists
August 12-13, 2010
New York Hall of Science

The first annual National VIVO Conference, Enabling National Networking of Scientists, will bring together scientists, developers, publishers, funding agencies, research officers, students and those supporting the development of team science. This two day conference will begin with workshops and tutorials for those new to VIVO, those implementing VIVO at their institutions, and those wishing to develop applications using VIVO. Invited speakers will present regarding the Semantic Web, Linked Open Data and the role of VIVO in support of team science. Panelists will discuss adoption and implementation findings. Feedback sessions will engage participants in requirements gathering and brainstorming regarding future network services. Presenters will discuss mapping, social networking, crowd sourcing, support for societies and other national network applications. Learn more at the conference web site.

VIVO is an open source, open ontology, research discovery platform for hosting information about scientists, their interests, activities, and accomplishments. VIVO supports open development and integration of science through simple, standard semantic web technologies. Learn more at the VIVO web site. VIVO is funded by the National Institutes of Health, U24 RR029822.

New Mobile Application for PLoS Medicine

2010-05-20T14:06:00.005-04:00

The Center for Biomedical Informatics at the Harvard Medical School in collaboration with the Public Library of Science (PLoS.org) have created a free iPhone application for PLoS Medicine, the open-access journal publishing important original research and analysis relevant to human health.

To give it a test drive, simply visit the iTunes Application store and download it to your iPhone or iPod Touch. To launch the application, simply touch the PLoS icon and you are immediately taken to a screen that contains the most recent and viewed articles, with an option to search for anything else from the current or archive issues using your touch keypad.
Other features include:

Clear article layout – with options to view the PDF or view online
Favorite and share – straight from your phone
Access the full archive – never be without the content you need again
Get further information – about PLoS in general and PLoS Medicine specifically

:: Check out related Carolina Curator blog entries for mobile options at UNC Libraries and the National Library of Medicine.

Friends of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL

2010-05-18T10:07:00.003-04:00

The Friends of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL (University College London) has recently established a new blog. The main topic for postings is the pending closure of the Centre, and several researchers, including the University of North Carolina's Dr. Michael McVaugh, have related their observations about its importance for the history of medicine as well as their concern for its future. The Friends blog also has a link to the online petition to Save History of Medicine at UCL, which now has over 3,400 signatures and is open for further supporters.

In addition, the Friends blog has links to articles about the closure: Wellcome Trust Is To Close Its Centre for History of Medicine (British Medical Journal, April 16, 2010) and Terminal Diagnosis for UCL's History of Medicine Centre (Times Higher Education, April 20, 2010). A summary history of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL is available online.

Previous related Carolina Curator postings include: Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine To Close (with Call for Papers for conference on The Future of Medical History) and Petition To Save the History of Medicine at University College London.

Festschrift for Professor Michael McVaugh

2010-05-17T10:21:00.003-04:00

Between Text and Patient: The Medical Enterprise in Medieval & Early Modern Europe brings together essays by an eminent group of scholars who traveled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2007 to honor the work of UNC Professor Michael R.McVaugh. Like McVaugh’s own publications, the essays vary greatly in their approaches to the healing arts in the medieval and early modern periods, ranging from philological studies of individual texts to paleo-pathological examinations of the spread of disease; from considerations of physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, patients, and unlearned healers, to the contexts in which they functioned: the town, the university, the monastery, the court, and the printing house; and from poly-lingual studies of Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Middle English texts to descriptions of the unstudied riches to be found in modern manuscript collections. As such, Between Text and Patient provides excellent examples of some of the best current research in the field. In addition to the many excellent essays, the volume is valuable for more than a dozen photos of never-before reproduced manuscripts, as well as brief editions and translations of original texts hitherto unavailable to English readers.

Edited by Florence Eliza Glaze and Brian Nance, Between Text and Patient (ISBN 978-88-8450-361-9) will be published this summer as part of Sismel's Micrologus' Library. Through June 30, 2010, the press is offering a reduced Tabula Gratulatoria price of 48 euro (72 euro after June 30). A table of contents and a Tabula Gratulatoria discount order form is available online.

Of related interest, see The MacKinney Collection of Medieval Medical Illustrations, a UNC digital collection.

Dr. Benson Reid Wilcox, UNC Heart Surgeon, Dies at 77

2010-05-12T19:02:00.006-04:00

Benson Reid Wilcox, M.D., a pediatric heart surgeon who served 29 years as chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, died May 11, 2010, at his home after a courageous battle with brain cancer. He was 77.

Dr. Wilcox served as chief of cardiothoracic surgery at UNC from 1969 to 1998. During that period, which was a time of dramatic advances in heart and lung surgery, the UNC hospital began offering coronary artery surgery, heart and lung transplantation, successful surgery for congenital heart defects in newborn infants, and a comprehensive program for the treatment of lung and esophageal cancer.

Dr. Wilcox was primarily a pediatric heart surgeon whose specialties were congenital heart disease, pediatric cardiac morphology, pediatric chest disease, and pulmonary circulation. He was a co-author of three books and an author of numerous medical journal articles and book chapters. He held important leadership posts in national medical organizations and was especially interested in the training of future surgeons.

Dr. Wilcox, known as Ben, was born May 26, 1932, in Charlotte, N.C., the son of James Simpson Wilcox and Louisa Reid Wilcox. He was raised in Charlotte and graduated from the Darlington School in Rome, Ga., in 1949. He was named 1997 Distinguished Alumnus of the Darlington School.

He earned an A.B. in history from the University of North Carolina in 1953 and an M.D. from the UNC School of Medicine in 1957. As an undergraduate at UNC, he was president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and Rex of the Order of Gimghoul. At the UNC medical school, he was president of his class and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society in 1957.

While a medical student in 1956, Dr. Wilcox helped to conduct laboratory research on the application of newly developed heart-lung machines. A heart-lung machine was first used in the operating room at UNC in April 1957, beginning the era of open heart surgery at North Carolina Memorial Hospital.

After serving as a surgery resident at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis (1957-1959) and North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill (1959-1960), he spent two years as a surgical clinical associate at the National Heart Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. He then returned to UNC as chief resident in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery (1962-63) and as chief resident in surgery (1963-64).

He joined the UNC Department of Surgery faculty in 1964 and was appointed as chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1969 and as a full professor in 1971. He was named a Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine in 1967. After he retired as chief of cardiothoracic surgery, Dr. Wilcox remained on the UNC medical school faculty as Professor of Surgery from 1998 until his death.

Dr. Wilcox also served the university in a number of other capacities. He was a member of the Selection Committee for the North Carolina Fellows Program; the UNC Faculty Committee on Athletics, serving as chairman from 1977 to 1985; and the Morehead Foundation’s Central Selection Committee, serving as chairman from 1989 to 1992. He was on the university’s Faculty Council and other campus-wide committees. He was a member of the executive committee of the Atlantic Coast Conference from 1978 to 1982 and was its president from 1980 to 1981. He also served on the board of directors of the Ronald McDonald House in Chapel Hill from 1981 to 1999.

He held leadership positions in prestigious professional organizations, including chairman of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, chairman of the Advisory Council for Cardiothoracic Surgery of the American College of Surgeons, president of the Nathan A. Womack Surgical Society, and president of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the largest society of thoracic surgeons in the world. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons in 2003.

He had a strong interest in graduate medical education, the training of resident physicians. He was instrumental in establishing the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA) which was formed to improve cardiothoracic surgery training and education for doctors, and whose members are directors of cardiothoracic surgery residency programs across the United States. From 1985 to 1987, he served as president of TSDA. In 2009, the TSDA honored him by establishing the Benson Wilcox Award for Best Resident Paper, to be presented each year at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons' annual meeting for the best scientific abstract submitted by a cardiothoracic surgery resident.

He also was on the Board of Directors of the National Resident Matching Program from 1998 to 2007, serving as president from 2001 to 2002. He was a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery (1999-2005); the American College of Surgeons’ Graduate Medical Education Committee (1993-2001); and a member of the Committee on Graduate Education for the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (1992-2001).

In 1980, Dr. Wilcox spent time during a sabbatical at Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Hospital in London, beginning a collaboration with Robert H. Anderson, M.D., a pediatric morphologist at Royal Brompton. After that visit, he and Dr. Anderson worked together on many research projects and publications, including the book Surgical Anatomy of the Heart (Raven Press, 3rd edition, 2004). The two physicians established a program that for many years enabled UNC cardiothoracic surgery residents to spend time in London studying with Dr. Anderson and attending rounds with him. Dr. Anderson also visited UNC.

Dr. Wilcox also was co-author of Atlas of the Heart (Gower Medical Publishing, 1988); and a co-editor of Diagnostic Atlas of the Heart (Raven Press, 1994). He was an author of more than 100 scientific and clinical articles that were published in medical journals.

After operating on many ill children, Dr. Wilcox had the idea of starting a support group for families of children who are undergoing heart surgery. The Carolina Parent Network, begun in 1986 and directed by Maggie Morris for many years, enables parents of children who are facing heart surgery at UNC to talk to parents who have already had the experience, and it also educates families about what to expect before, during and after surgery.

Dr. Wilcox loved history, especially medical history. As a medical student at UNC, he helped found the Bullitt Club for the study of the history of medicine. As a faculty member, he began collecting old and rare books about the history of medicine, particularly books about thoracic surgery and the specialties that preceded it. In 1984, he began presenting a rare book to the UNC Health Sciences Library each year in honor of his chief resident. In 1998 and 1999, he donated most of his medical book collection to the library. Since then the Benson Reid Wilcox Collection has grown to more than 1,400 books, journals, reprints and other items. He served on the board of visitors for the UNC Health Sciences Library.

"Dr. Wilcox' contributions to the historical collections at the Health Sciences Library were truly remarkable in both variety and scope. An avid and erudite bibliophile, he thrilled in the hunt for significant texts, and had a deep appreciation for the role of history in the theory and practice of medicine," said Daniel Smith, special collections librarian for the UNC Health Sciences Library.

Dr. Wilcox is survived by his wife, Patsy Davis, and by his four children: Adelaide W. King and her husband, Ruffin, of Charlottesville, Va.; Sandra W. Conway and her husband, Peter, of Charlotte, N.C.; Melissa W. Bond and her husband, Brett, of Charlotte; and Reid Wilcox and his wife, Suzanne, of Greensboro, N.C. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren, Alexandra and Ruffin King; Peter, Ben and Adelaide Conway; Brett, Lucinda and Reid Bond; and Ben, Henry and Ellie Wilcox. He is also survived by two stepdaughters, Harriet Kendall and Julia Klein; a brother, Bob Wilcox; two sisters-in-law, Dede Thompson and Louise Wilcox, and a brother-in-law Allan Davis. He was predeceased by his parents and by his brother Jim Wilcox.

A memorial service will be held Friday, May 14, at 2 p.m. in Gerrard Hall on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gerrard Hall is on Cameron Avenue, across from the Old Well, between Memorial Hall and the South Building.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to the TSDA Benson R. Wilcox Award. Checks can be made to the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association and mailed to Michael R. Mill, M.D., Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, CB#7065, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7065.

Note: See related Carolina Curator posts: Dr. Benson Wilcox: Surgeon, Scholar, and Benefactor and A Hearty Valentine's Greeting.

W. Curtis Worthington Research Paper Competition

2010-05-12T12:31:00.002-04:00

The Waring Library Society and the Waring Historical Library at the Medical University of South Carolina invite entries for the W. Curtis Worthington, Jr., Undergraduate and Graduate Research Papers Competition. Papers entered in the Competition should represent original research in the history of the health sciences. They may cover any historical period and any cultural tradition. Paper topics may include -- but are by no means limited to -- public health policy and the social context of disease and health; the construction of the medical profession and medical institutions; gender and medical theory or practice; learned medical practitioners as social, political, and economic agents; notions of the human body as the subject of health, disease, and therapeutic intervention; medicine and natural philosophy/science; medicine and the humanities; and the development of health science disciplines such as nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and allied health fields.

Entries may not have been published previously, nor be submitted more than once. A person may submit only one entry each year. The same person may not win first prize during two consecutive years. This competition is open to any degree-seeking individual attending an accredited college or university. Additionally, interns and residents in accredited programs are eligible in the graduate category. Entries must be not fewer than 2,500 words nor more than 5,000 words (not including notes and bibliography). Photographs or illustrations should be included whenever possible or appropriate. Manuscripts should be submitted as a Word document or as an unformatted ASCII-preferred document. Send completed application form as an attachment with your submission; do not include any personal identification information in the text of your submission. Entries must be received by May 31, 2010 [note deadline has been extended].

Winners agree to grant the Waring Historical Library and Waring Library Society both initial and subsequent publication rights in any manner or form without further compensation. Except as provided above, copyright ownership otherwise remains with the author. One first prize of $1,500 will be awarded each year to the winner in each category: undergraduate and graduate. The winning papers will be published in the Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association, subject to the review and requirements of its editor. The WLS Awards Committee reserves the right to not give any or all awards in a particular year.

For more information about this competition, please contact the Waring Historical Library at 843-792-2288 or waringhl@musc.edu.

National Women's Health Week, May 9-15, 2010

2010-05-10T16:44:00.011-04:00

Dr. Regina M. Benjamin, Surgeon General, has made the following statement on the importance of celebrating National Women’s Health Week and empowering women to make their health a top priority:

Mother’s Day, May 9, marks the start of National Women’s Health Week, a weeklong observance coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. With the theme “It’s Your Time,” the goal of National Women’s Health Week is to empower women to make their own health a top priority and encourage them to take small, manageable steps to improve their health and reduce their risk for many diseases. On Mother's Day, women across the country will celebrate with family and friends. This year, I also encourage women to celebrate themselves by focusing on their own health and well-being.

The most important steps women can take to improve their health include eating a well balanced, nutritious diet; getting regular physical activity; avoiding unhealthy behaviors, like smoking; and paying attention to mental health. In addition, women should get regular checkups and preventive screenings. May 10 is National Women’s Checkup Day, and I urge all women to make an appointment with their health care professional.

In honor of National Women’s Health Week and National Women’s Checkup Day, more than one thousand events will take place across the country. To find an event near you, visit the National Women's Health Week web site.

During National Women’s Health Week it is important to tell our wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, and girlfriends to make the time to improve their health, prevent disease, and live longer, healthier, and happier lives. After all, when women take even simple steps to improve their health, the results can be significant and everyone benefits.

Note: The text of President Obama's proclamation of National Women's Health Week is available via the White House web site.

Call for Manuscripts: University of Pittsburgh Press

2010-05-10T15:45:00.003-04:00

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a five-year, $750,000 grant to the University of Pittsburgh for a book publishing initiative in the history of science to be pursued by the University of Pittsburgh Press in a close partnership with Pittʼs Department of History and Philosophy of Science and the Department of Historyʼs World History Center. The grant will support publication of innovative work in the history of science. In addition to producing books, the Press and its partners will cooperate in a number of activities in support of this program, including guest lectures, conferences, fellowships, and a book prize. Read more . . . .

Both experienced and new authors are strongly encouraged to submit proposals for new books and book series. If you would like to make a submission, have suggestions, or would like further information on the new initiative, please contact Beth Davis, editor for history and philosophy of science, at jedavis@pitt.edu or 412-383-3174. Guidelines for prospective authors are available online.

2010 Rudolf Virchow Awards

2010-05-10T14:58:00.003-04:00

Rudolf Virchow, a 19th century German physician, was a key founder of social medicine. His contributions centered on his recognition that multiple intersecting factors – social, political, and economic – produce disease and illness. He argued that the circumstances and deprivations of poverty increase people's susceptibility to disease and result in reduced life expectancy and quality of life. He eloquently articulated the limits of medicine in the absence of material security, a sentiment which informed his view that nation-states play an important role in ensuring health security for a citizenry. Virchow viewed advocacy as an essential part of health praxis, and, in keeping with this legacy, the Critical Anthropology for Global Health Caucus honors Virchow's work with three awards.

The annual Rudolf Virchow Awards are given by the Critical Anthropology for Global Health Caucus, a special interest group of the Society for Medical Anthropology. The Professional Award honors a recent published article, and the Graduate and Undergraduate Student Awards honor recent student papers that have not yet benefited from editorial review. Winning submissions combine a critical anthropology focus with rich ethnographic data, and best reflect, extend, and/or advance critical perspectives in medical anthropology.

Submissions
The submission deadline for the 2010 Rudolf Virchow Awards is July 30, 2010. Awards are made in the following categories:

1) Professional,
2) Graduate Student, and
3) Undergraduate Student (see below).

We encourage you to submit your own work and/or to nominate papers of your students or articles of colleagues.

If you wish to submit a paper for consideration, please e-mail the paper and a cover letter of introduction to the 2010 Virchow Awards chair, Susan Erikson, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, at slerikson@sfu.ca by July 30, 2010. Hard copies are no longer accepted. Confirmation of receipt will be sent. To ensure a prompt and fair review, papers will not be accepted after the July 30, 2010 11:59 pm PST deadline.

Professional Award Category
The professional award will be awarded for an article or chapter published during 2009 in a peer-reviewed journal (print or online) or peer-reviewed edited volume. Articles may be singly- or co-authored. Technical reports and other contracted works are not considered for
this award. Professional articles must be submitted electronically in Adobe PDF format as they appeared in print.

Graduate Award Category
The graduate student award will be awarded for a paper that was written in 2009 or 2010 and that has not yet been subjected to editorial review. Papers that have been submitted to a journal or edited volume, but that have not yet benefited from review may be included in this category. Theses and dissertations will not be accepted. However, a summary no longer than 30 pages (inclusive of references) of a thesis or a dissertation that can stand on it own, or a chapter that has been revised to stand on its own will be considered for this award. Papers from students who have graduated are still accepted in this category as long as the paper was written in 2009 or 2010. Graduate student papers must be submitted in Adobe PDF or Word format with a title-only first page. File sizes must be less than 2MB. The document must exclude the author's name, author's advisor, and university affiliation throughout. The cover letter should include this information. Only papers, not interactive media, will be considered for this award.

Undergraduate Award Category
The undergraduate student award will be awarded for a paper written in 2009 or 2010 while the student was still an undergraduate. Honors theses are not accepted. However, a shortened version no longer than 30 pages (inclusive of references) of the thesis or a chapter from the thesis that has been revised to stand on its own will be considered for this award. Undergraduate student papers must be submitted in Adobe PDF or Word format with a title-only first page. File sizes must be less than 2MB. The document must exclude the author's name, author's advisor, and university affiliation throughout. The cover letter should include this information. Only papers, not interactive media, will be considered for this award.

NCpedia Seeking Contributors

2010-05-10T10:58:00.002-04:00

The State Library of North Carolina is looking for authors for our growing NCpedia – our online encyclopedia. We are unable to offer payment for this work, but are able to offer by-lines and appreciation!

We are starting with broad, overview articles. Topics will get narrower and narrower as the project moves forward and the NCpedia grows. For instance, a broad, overview article may be on pottery in the state as well as its current status. After those overview articles are added, we’ll look for authors to write entries that provide more detail on time periods and/or narrower topics mentioned in the initial overview article.

Anyone interested in contributing is encouraged to peruse the NCpedia and contact Michelle Czaikowski, Digital Projects Manager for the State Library with the topic on which you are interested in writing, even if the topic is still listed on our list of "Topics Needed." This will insure there is no duplication. (We don't want anyone to go through the effort of writing an article on a topic already fully covered!)

Entries may vary in length between 500 - 2000 words depending on the topic. Further details on format required for submissions is available online.

Interested in learning more about the NCpedia? Click here!

Petition To Save the History of Medicine at University College London

2010-05-03T12:21:00.009-04:00

As noted in an earlier Carolina Curator blog posting, the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine is slated to be closed. Currently an online petition that bears over 1300 signatures calls upon both University College London and the Wellcome Trust to reconsider this decision. The petition, entitled "Save History of Medicine at UCL," reads:

On March 31st the Wellcome Trust and UCL announced the closure of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine. This decision came in the middle of negotiations concerning the normal quinquennial review of funding for the Centre. The proposal to close the Centre was made by a handful of persons within the Wellcome Trust without, as far as is known, the involvement of any historian of medicine. We call upon the Trust to reconsider its decision, reinstate the independent peer review process, and permit any subsequent Centre to remain within the Wellcome building. We call upon UCL to maintain the history of medicine as a visible entity within College serving both historians and medics.

To view signatories or to add one's own signature, click here. The online petition was created by Professor Vivian Nutton at UCL, and is hosted at PetitionOnline.com.

A Conversation with Oliver Smithies: The Complete Video

2010-04-27T05:48:00.010-04:00

On March 30, 2009, the UNC Health Sciences Library hosted "A Conversation with Dr. Oliver Smithies." The event was moderated by Dr. Tony Waldrop, UNC Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development, and featured a conversation with Smithies, 2007 Nobel Laureate in Medicine or Physiology, and a lengthy question-and-answer with the audience, which was composed of numerous students, researchers, staff, and faculty, as well as members of the public. While a previous blog entry included video excerpts of his presentation, the present posting includes the complete video [1:19:28].

For other Smithies-related postings on the Carolina Curator blog, click here; for a collection of Smithies' Nobel-related materials, visit the Highlights section of the HSL Special Collections web site. The text of Smithies' 2002 Norma Berryhill Distinguished Lecture, "Fifty Years as a Bench Scientist," is also available online.

UNC maintains a channel for university-related YouTube videos, which can be accessed at the YouTube site; a playlist for Health & Medicine videos is also available. In addition, UNC Health Care and the School of Medicine maintain a YouTube channel, with playlists for news, grand rounds, and more.

WWW2010 and Web Science 2010 Conferences

2010-04-26T09:42:00.002-04:00

WWW2010 Conference
April 26-30, 2010, Raleigh, NC

The World Wide Web Conference is a yearly international conference on the topic of the future direction of the World Wide Web. It began in 1994 at CERN and is organized by the International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee (IW3C2). The Conference aims to provide the world a premier forum for discussion and debate about the evolution of the Web, the standardization of its associated technologies, and the impact of those technologies on society and culture. The conference brings together researchers, developers, users and commercial ventures—indeed all those who are passionate about the Web and what it has to offer. WWW2010 will focus on “openness” in web technologies, standards and practices, and will showcase the best of the region’s technology and culture.

Web Science Conference 2010
April 26-27, 2010, Raleigh, NC

The second Web Science conference will overlap with WWW2010 which is also being held in Raleigh and once again we seek papers that demonstrate the development, scope, and relevance of the emerging field of Web Science.

Web Science is concerned with the full scope of socio-technical relationships that are implicated in the World Wide Web, and is thus inherently interdisciplinary. It is based on the notion that understanding the Web involves not only an analysis of its architecture and applications, but also insight into the people, organizations, policies, and economics that are affected by and subsumed within it.

This conference embraces physical and social science drawing on computer and engineering sciences, sociology, economics, political science, law, management geography and psychology. Web Science 2010 brings these disciplines together in creative and critical dialogue and crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Invited speakers will be Jennifer Chayes (Microsoft Research, Boston) and Melissa Gilbert (Temple University, Philadelphia) and Sir Tim Berners-Lee (MIT).

Bullitt History of Medicine Club Lecture Series Online

2010-04-22T14:01:00.004-04:00

The entire 2009-10 lecture series for the Bullitt History of Medicine Club is now accessible online. Lectures have been digitally recorded since September 2008, and are available as mp3s on the Bullitt Club web site and as podcasts via Carolina on iTunes (navigate to School of Medicine section or click direct link). A listing of lectures for 2008-9 and 2009-10 follows below. For further information on the activities of the Bullitt Club, visit the organization's web site.

2009-2010 Bullitt Club Lectures

Dr. Carol Otey, Associate Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology, UNC School of Medicine
Oral Contraception: From Ancient Plant Extracts to the Birth of the Pill
:: April 22, 2010 [download mp3 -- 26 MB -- 52:25]

Dr. Margaret Humphreys, Josiah Charles Trent Professor in the History of Medicine, Duke University
The South's Secret Weapons: Disease, Environment and the Civil War
:: March 30, 2010 [download mp3 -- 30 MB -- 1:03:27]

Dr. Alexander Toledo, Assistant Professor of Surgery, UNC School of Medicine
John Collins Warren: "Gentlemen, This Is No Humbug"
:: February 18, 2010 [download mp3 -- 24 MB -- 51:02]

Chris Dibble, MD/PhD student, UNC School of Medicine
Winner of 2009 McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine
The Dead Ringer: Medicine, Poe, and the Fear of Premature Burial
:: December 10, 2009 [download mp3 -- 22 MB -- 46:25]

Dr. Michael McVaugh, Professor Emeritus of History, UNC
Arabic into Latin (Or, Why Medical Schools Got Started)
:: November 10, 2009 [download mp3 -- 31 MB -- 1:06:12]

Dr. Janna Dieckmann, Clinical Associate Professor of Nursing, UNC School of Nursing
Home-Visiting by Nurses, Physicians, and Physical Therapists in North Carolina, 1950-1965
:: October 19, 2009 [download mp3 -- 44 MB -- 47:16]

Dr. Barbara Clowse, Historian and Author
Dr. Frances Sage Bradley: Her Biographer's Dilemma
:: September 29, 2009 [download mp3 -- 42 MB -- 44:38]

Dr. Philip Klemmer, Professor of Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
Jack London's Mysterious Malady
:: September 15, 2009 [download mp3 -- 42 MB -- 44:35]

2008-2009 Bullitt Club Lectures

Dr. Sue Estroff, Professor of Social Medicine, UNC School of Medicine
Blemished Bodies and Persons: An Historical Perspective on Stigma
:: April 14, 2009 [download mp3 -- 75 MB -- 1:20:15]

Lisa Wiese, Second-Year Medical Student, UNC School of Medicine
Washington, D.C.: Understanding the Poverty-Health Link from an Historical Lens
:: April 6, 2009 [download mp3 -- 48 MB -- 51:22]

Dr. Todd Savitt, Professor of Medical Humanities, East Carolina University
Entering a "White" Profession: Black Physicians in 19th- and 20th-Century America
:: February 10, 2009 [download mp3 -- 59 MB -- 1:03:22]

Dr. Aldo Rustioni, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, UNC School of Medicine
The Neuron Doctrine of 1891 and the 1906 Nobel Award for Physiology or Medicine
:: January 21, 2009 [download mp3 -- 55 MB -- 59:32]

Dr. Vanessa Northrington Gamble, University Professor of Medical Humanities, George Washington University
"Without Health and Long Life All Else Fails": A History of African-American Efforts to Eliminate Racial Disparities in Health and Health Care
:: December 10, 2008 [download mp3 -- 60 MB -- 1:04:24]

Chris Dibble, MD/PhD Student, UNC School of Medicine
Winner of 2008 McLendon-Thomas Award in the History of Medicine
Edward Livingston Trudeau: The First American Physician-Scientist and the Fight against Tuberculosis
:: November 17, 2008 [download mp3 -- 49 MB -- 52:38]

Dr. Elizabeth Fenn, Associate Professor of History, Duke University
Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82
:: October 21, 2008 [download mp3 -- 61 MB -- 1:05:18]

Wendy Moore, Freelance Journalist and Author (England)
The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery
:: September 23, 2008 [download mp3 -- 58 MB -- 1:02:02]

Ansley Herring Wegner, Research Historian, North Carolina Office of Archives and HistoryPhantom Pain: North Carolina's Artificial Limbs Program for Confederate Amputees
:: September 17, 2008 [download mp3 -- 34 MB -- 36:32]

Note: Bullitt Club lecturers maintain individual copyright in online presentations.

Symposium for The First White House Library

2010-04-21T13:08:00.009-04:00

The Library of Congress will by hosting a one-day symposium on May 7, 2010 to celebrate the publication of The First White House Library: A History & Annotated Catalogue. [For a detailed program, click here].

At the beginning of the day, visitors may choose one of two optional tours in the Library of Congress. Mark Dimunation, Chief of Rare Book and Special Collections, will give a tour of the new exhibition of Thomas Jefferson’s library [see also the digitized catalog of Jefferson's library; his books on medicine and anatomy are described in volume 1 at pp. 395-455], and John Cole, Director of the Center for the Book, will lead a tour that features the iconography, quotations, and inscriptions of the Library’s Jefferson Building.

The symposium program begins officially at 10:00 a.m. with a plenary address by Catherine M. Parisian, the editor of The First White House Library, followed by the presentation of copies of the book to the National First Ladies’ Library and the White House.

Other conference sessions will focus on books and reading in the White House. Douglas L. Wilson, Co-Director, Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College, and Jean Baker, Mary Todd Lincoln’s biographer, will discuss President and Mrs. Lincoln. Other featured speakers on the topic of First Ladies and reading will include the noted first ladies historian Carl Anthony; William G. Allman, Curator of the White House; Nancy Beck Young, biographer of Lou Henry Hoover; and Abigail Fillmore’s biographer Elizabeth Thacker-Estrada. The program will conclude with a plenary address by distinguished historian and author Sean Wilentz. A closing reception will follow.

RSVP: This event is free and open to the public. To assist with preparations, we ask those planning to attend to RSVP to Stacyea Sistare-Anderson, Center for the Book, (202) 707-5221, stsi@loc.gov.

The symposium is sponsored by the Bibliographical Society of America, the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, and the National First Ladies’ Library.

April Is National Minority Health Month

2010-04-19T09:05:00.013-04:00

April is National Minority Health Month. Check out the resources offered by the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HSS), as well as the many health information guides for diverse population groups maintained by MedlinePlus at the National Library of Medicine.

OMH was established in 1986 by the HHS. It advises the Secretary and the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) on public health program activities affecting minority groups within the United States. Resources are available online that recognize diverse heritages: Black History Month; Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month; Hispanic Heritage Month; and American Indian Heritage Month.

The OMH also maintains state offices of Minority and Multicultural Health. Contact information for all the state liaisons is available online, including the North Carolina liaison.

At the University of North Carolina, the Minority Health Project works to eliminate health disparities, and provides a guide to minority health-related activities at the university and elsewhere on its web site. In addition, NC Health Info, a service based at the UNC Health Sciences Library, provides much valuable health and medical information for minority groups, as well as links to local health services.

Special Collections at the Health Sciences Library also maintains a digital collection of Community Diagnosis Papers on public health concerns of diverse populations within the state, and is actively digitizing many historical North Carolina public health materials as part of the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection, an NC ECHO grant-funded project. Additional resources on minority medical care, health and hygiene, among other topics, are discoverable via the online catalog.

Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine To Close

2010-04-16T23:07:00.006-04:00

The Future of Medical History

International Conference Announcement and Call for Papers

The Wellcome Trust and University College London have decided to close the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine and initiate a two year wind down, without a quinquennial peer review. This marks the end of the Centre, and its prior incarnation of the Academic Unit of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine.

The academic staff of the Centre will be hosting a three day international conference on the Future of Medical History, to take place on July 15-17, 2010 at Goodenough College in London. In keeping with the research of the Centre and former Institute, contributions will be welcome on all aspects of medical history. Papers will be limited to 20 minutes each.

Please send an abstract and contact details to Lauren Cracknell (l.cracknell@ucl.ac.uk) by June 1, 2010. Due to current circumstances, the Centre will not be able to cover the cost of travel or accommodation.

Further details will be available on the Centre website soon.

JournalTOCs a Useful Current Awareness Tool

2010-04-14T10:46:00.004-04:00

JournalTOCs is the largest, free and searchable collection of scholarly journal Tables of Contents (TOCs) in the world. It contains TOCs for over 14,000 journals collected from over 500 publishers. JournalTOCs has taken special care to include all the highest rated journals in their fields, guaranteeing quality results. The content of JournalTOCs is directly collected using the URLs for TOC RSS feeds provided by publishers.

JournalTOCs is for anyone who's looking for the latest or most current papers published in the scholarly literature with international coverage. Academics, librarians, students, researchers, and anyone else should find it useful.

Developers can use the JournalTOCs API (application programming interface) to embed our search functionality within their web applications to make the most of the journal TOC RSS feeds metadata. Anyone with access to RSS Readers can also use the JournalTOCs API.

JournalTOCs is an initiative of the ICBL at Heriot-Watt University and is being managed by Santy Chumbe.

Read more . . .

The Raw and the Cooked – and the Rare

2010-04-14T10:06:00.007-04:00

On April 15, 2010 treasures will come out of the stacks at the Rare Book Collection in UNC's Wilson Special Collections Library. In a free public program at 5:45 p.m., Claudia Funke, curator of rare books, will speak about the concept of rarity and the role of libraries in collecting and making rare books available. For her talk, titled "The Raw and the Cooked – and the Rare," Funke will showcase some of the collection's recent gifts and purchases. Participants will have the opportunity during a reception beginning at 5 p.m. to view additions to the Rare Book Collection from the past two years. Items will range in date from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Read more . . .

The reception will be held in the Wilson Lobby, with the book viewing in Rare Book Collection Reading Room; the lecture will be held at in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room.

"Communities Thrive @ Your Library"

2010-04-13T10:41:00.005-04:00

That's the theme for this year's National Library Week running from April 11 to 17, 2010. Sponsored annually by the American Libraries Association, National Library Week promotes libraries of all types: school, public, academic, and special. In conjunction with the week's celebration, the ALA released its annual report, The State of America's Libraries, which details many current trends, particularly the impact of the recession on the use and provision of library services across the United States.

Trent Society Lecture: Pathology at Duke

2010-04-12T10:44:00.001-04:00

New Prints & Photographs Catalog at Library of Congress

2010-04-08T10:05:00.004-04:00

The Library of Congress' extensive Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) now has a new look and exciting new features. A dynamic redesign offers clean and visually inviting pages, with easy-to-use features for searching, browsing and sharing.

PPOC offers access to 1.25 million digital images and to more than 600,000 records describing the collections in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division (P&P).

"The new features are wonderful," said Helena Zinkham, acting chief of P&P. "People seeking specific subjects, or just wanting to explore what’s available, can interact more easily with the picture collections. They now have the tools they’ve come to expect from other websites, like a variety of viewing options and simple sharing of what’s found, plus improved keyword access and more indexes to browse."

PPOC is a heavily used resource, with more than 16 million searches conducted in 2009. The catalog provides access through group or item records to P&P’s holdings, which consist of more than 14 million pictures, including the 1.25 million digitized images.

For more information about the Prints and Photographs Division, visit the division's web site; the division's catalog is also accessible online.

Read more . . .

World Health Day 2010

2010-04-07T12:43:00.003-04:00

Today, April 7th, is World Health Day. With the campaign 1000 Cities, 1000 Lives, events will be organized worldwide during the week of April 7-11, 2010. Sponsored by the World Health Organization, the global goals of the campaign are:

:: 1000 Cities: to open up public spaces to health, whether it be activities in parks, town hall meetings, clean-up campaigns, or closing off portions of streets to motorized vehicles.

:: 1000 Lives: to collect 1000 stories of urban health champions who have taken action and had a significant impact on health in their cities.

In 1948, the First World Health Assembly called for the creation of a "World Health Day" to mark the founding of the World Health Organization. Since 1950, World Health Day has been celebrated on the 7th of April annually. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of concern for WHO.

World Health Day is a worldwide opportunity to focus on key public health issues that affect the international community. World Health Day launches longer-term advocacy programmes that continue well beyond 7 April.

The following links provide an overview of the past World Health Days:

2009: Make hospitals safe in emergencies
2008: Protecting health from climate change
2007: International health security
2006: Working together for health
2005: Make every mother and child count
2004: Road safety
2003: Healthy environments for children
2002: Move for health
2001: Mental health: stop exclusion--dare to care

For more on the history of the World Health Organization, visit the WHO web site:

:: WHO 60th Anniversary
:: WHO Historical Collection
:: Archives of the WHO
:: Global Health Histories
:: Posters from Public Health Campaigns

2010 North Carolina History Day Contest

2010-04-07T09:41:00.005-04:00

North Carolina History Day is a program designed to promote interest in history among students and to assist teachers in teaching history more effectively. The program will help students develop skills in historical research, analysis, critical thinking, organization, and presentation, as well as improve reading and writing skills. Students use these skills to design an exhibit, write a paper, produce a documentary, create a performance, or develop a web site centered around the annual theme. The History Day program also provides teachers with curriculum materials and training opportunities.

At district, state, and national history competitions judges review the students' work and provide constructive comments. In North Carolina, the state contest is administered by the Office of Archives and History with substantial assistance from the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies. National History Day in North Carolina is affiliated with National History Day.

The State History Day Contest will be held on April 24, 2010 in Raleigh. The National Contest will be held June 13-17, 2010 in College Park, Maryland. For more information, visit the North Carolina History Day web site.

Michigan to Create Digital Collection of 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic

2010-04-06T12:23:00.002-04:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine a two-year $314,688 grant to create an original, open access digital collection of archival, primary, and interpretive materials related to the history of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic in the United States. The University of Michigan Library, through its Scholarly Publishing Office, is contributing digital conversion, hosting, and archiving services to the project.

The project, which the NEH has given a prestigious We the People designation for its efforts to strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture, will include approximately 50,000 pages of original materials that document the experiences of 50 diverse communities in the United States in fall 1918 and winter 1919 when influenza took the lives of an estimated 675,000 Americans. The collection’s primary resources comprise letters and correspondence, minutes of organizations and groups, reports from agencies and charities, newspaper accounts, military records, diaries, photographs and more.

Read more . . .

Related Resources

:: Influenza 1918-1919: North Carolina Statistics and Commentary, a project of the State Library of North Carolina

:: The Health Bulletin (North Carolina State Board of Health) [1913-1973], a project of HSL Special Collections

:: Biennial Report of the North Carolina State Board of Health [1909-1972], a project of HSL Special Collections

Conference on Poetry and Caregiving at Duke

2010-04-06T11:00:00.006-04:00

Life Lines: Poetry for Our Patients, Our Communities, Our Selves
A Conference Examining the Place of Poetry in Caregiving

May 21-23, 2010
Duke University
Sponsored by Duke Medicine

Program and Schedule
Speakers and Panelists
Registration

What are the challenges and benefits of offering poetry to patients? Can the sharing of poetry expand the vision of practitioners and students in healthcare professions? What is the role of poetry in community treatment programs? In shelters? In prisons? What can caregivers gain from writing and reading poetry?

This conference is designed for those who have an interest in examining the place of poetry in caregiving. Three panels of poets and health practitioners will present perspectives on the ways poetry can play a part in caring for our patients, our communities and our selves. Through discussion sessions, participants will have an opportunity to share experiences, to dialogue, to develop techniques, and to gain a deeper appreciation for poetry in the art of healing. Highlights of the conference include Friday and Saturday evening talks by poets David Whyte and Jane Hirshfield. Ms. Hirshfield will also offer a master class in poetry writing on Sunday morning. Join us as we hear from physicians, therapists, and poets and discuss the practicalities and possibilities of poetry in health care.

Registration is limited to 150, to allow lots of time for conversation and dialogue amongst those attending. Those who cannot make the whole conference might well be interested in the evening lectures by David Whyte on Friday ($20/$10 students) and Jane Hirshfield (free to public).

For more information about LIFE LINES: Poetry for Our Patients, Our Communities, Our Selves please contact: Grey Brown, Literary Arts Director, Health Arts Network at Duke, Duke University Medical Center (brown097@mc.duke.edu), or Dr. Frank Neelon of the Conference Planning Committee (919-618-1757).

Bullitt Club Lecture on History of Oral Contraception

2010-04-06T09:04:00.002-04:00

The last meeting of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club for 2009-10 will be Thursday, April 22, 2010 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us from 12-1pm for light refreshments and lecture. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Carol Otey, Associate Professor of Cell and and Molecular Biology at UNC, will be presenting a lecture entitled, "Oral Contraception: From Ancient Plant Extracts to the Birth of the Pill."

The evolution of contraceptive practices from ancient times to the present will be discussed, within the context of the legal and social forces at work in human populations during different historical periods. The emphasis will be on plant-based contraception, including ancient herbal medicines, the development of rubber-based barrier methods (starting from raw plant sap), and the genesis of birth control pills in plant-based organic compounds.

Dr. Otey earned degrees in cell biology at Trinity University (BS) and UCLA (PhD), before pursuing post-doctoral work at UNC. She worked as Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia from 1993-1998, and joined the UNC faculty in 1998.

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the organization's web site.

Social History of Medicine Journal Seeks New Co-Editor

2010-04-05T15:38:00.005-04:00

Social History of Medicine seeks a new co-editor to join Graham Mooney (co-editor), Anna Crozier (book reviews editor), and Ruth Biddiss (assistant editor). The new co-editor will succeed Bill Luckin, who will retire at the beginning of 2011.

Social History of Medicine is the leading international journal in itsf ield and covers all aspects of the social, cultural and economic history of medicine. It is published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Social History of Medicine. The journal appears three times annually but we are currently exploring options toexpand to four issues per year.

We are looking for a experienced, competent and well established medical historians who will ensure editorial cohesion. Expertise in all areas of history of medicine and/or time-periods will be considered but we are in particular looking for candidates with a background in pre-1800 and/ornon-Western history of medicine.

Applicants are asked to send a C.V. and statement of interest to the Chair of the Society, Dr Lutz Sauerteig, Centre for the History of Medicine and Disease, Wolfson Research Institute, Durham University,Queen's Campus, Stockton-on-Tees TS17 6BH, UK (l.d.sauerteig@durham.ac.uk).

The application should provide a brief account of why the candidate is attracted to the post, an outline of what they would contribute to SHM, and a synopsis of their relevant experience. Informal enquiries about the nature of the post can be made by e-mail to Graham Mooney (gmooney3@jhmi.edu) or Bill Luckin (billluckin@googlemail.com).

Further details about the journal and the Society for the Social History of Medicine can be found at the Society's web site. The search is open until the position has been filled.

Fine Books & Collections Back in Print

2010-04-03T18:23:00.005-04:00

Fine Books & Collections has now returned to print with the publication of its Spring 2010 issue. Among the items in the latest issue are:

:: Dard Hunter's passion for paper;
:: Biblio 360, a comprehensive guide to book-related events;
:: Edward Stratemeyer's life in New York;
:: Nicholas Basbanes interviews the new archivist of the United States;
:: A look into Baldwin's diary.

Subscription and other information is available on the magazine's web site.

See related post: Fine Books & Collections Returning to Print.

Book Event for New Biography on Hugh Williamson [1735-1819]

2010-04-01T14:16:00.004-04:00

The Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be hosting a book event for Dr. George Sheldon, author of the first full-length biography of Hugh Williamson [1735-1819], an illustrious figure in both American and North Carolina history. Entitled Hugh Williamson: Physician, Patriot, and Founding Father, the book recounts the remarkable life of Williamson, who among many other accomplishments was a signer of the U.S. Constitution.

The event will begin at 5:30pm on Thursday, April 15, 2010 in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527) at the UNC Health Sciences Library. Dr. Sheldon will make a brief presentation and entertain questions on Williamson's place in history. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. Light refreshments will be served and all are welcome. In addition, a small display will be on view in the exhibition cases on the first floor of HSL.

Dr. Sheldon is the Zack D. Owens Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the Director of the Health Policy Research Institute of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Editor-in-Chief of e-FACS.org, the web portal of ACS. From 1984-2001 he served as Chair of the Department of Surgery at UNC.

See related post: New Biography on Hugh Williamson, Physician and Patriot.

Keys To Communication: Speech & Hearing Sciences Exhibit

2010-04-01T14:11:00.001-04:00

The Health Sciences Library (HSL), in collaboration with the UNC Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences (DSHS), is hosting an exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Division from March 1 - August 31, 2010. The “Keys to Communication” exhibit highlights the activities of all speech and hearing professionals, and places special emphasis on the specialty areas of UNC Faculty.

"This is a wonderful addition to our 40th anniversary events and one that will live on after the exhibition through the virtual exhibit," said Dr. Jack Roush, Director of the DSHS. "We're very proud of the display and the detail with which it addresses our areas of research and practice. The HSL staff has been wonderful partners in this endeavor and continues to be a tremendous resource for our department and this campus."

The exhibit covers the various activities of speech-language pathologists and audiologists, as well as brief histories of the speech and hearing professions. Also included is an overview and history of the Division, which is part of Allied Health Sciences in the School of Medicine, with commentary from Robert Peters, the first Division Director, to help celebrate the anniversary.

Among the highlights of the exhibit is the display of selected items from Roush’s antique hearing aid collection. These items help show the development of hearing instruments over time from early ear trumpets to modern digital hearing aids and cochlear implants. The audiology portion of the exhibit also includes various hearing devices from special phones to Bluetooth devices and other modern hearing aids.

“Keys to Communication” offers insights from patients as well as professionals to provide a deeper understanding of how essential communication is to our everyday lives, and how the services of speech and hearing professionals help make that communication possible. Descriptions of the DSHS programs also include commentary from current students as well as alumni.

Each section of the exhibit highlights examples of the activities of the DSHS faculty’s research, teaching and practice. This includes researching best practices for teaching autistic children, establishing bilingual language development programs, and participating in international programs, including teaching in Guatemala and offering hearing screenings at the Special Olympics.

Visitors from Tajikistan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Latvia enjoyed the exhibit on March 9 as part of an effort to learn more about serving preschool children with disabilities. The international visitors are directors of each of their nations Open Society Institute foundations and Step-by-Step programs, which help families prepare their children for school and is similar to the United State’s Head Start program.

The exhibit is on display in the South Columbia Street entrance foyer of the HSL. An enhanced, online version of the exhibit includes videotaped interviews and links to related resources. The exhibit is a collaborative effort of HSL staff, DSHS faculty, and Anne Wood Humphries of RiverRunDesign.net, designer and curator.

The DSHS was established in 1969 and is internationally recognized for excellence in education, research, and professional service. It is one of seven divisions in the Department of Allied Health Sciences, UNC School of Medicine. The Division’s academic degree programs include a master’s (M.S.) in speech-language pathology and doctoral degrees in audiology (Au.D.) and speech and hearing sciences (Ph.D.). The audiology and speech-language pathology programs at UNC are among the nation’s top-ranked graduate programs.

EPA Releases Public Database on Risk Assessments

2010-03-25T09:05:00.005-04:00

WASHINGTON -- On March 24, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the Health and Environmental Research Online (HERO) database, a milestone in transparency. HERO provides access to the scientific studies used in making key regulatory decisions, including EPA’s periodic review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six major pollutants. It is part of the open government directive to conduct business with transparency, participation, and collaboration.

"The HERO database strengthens our science and our transparency--two pillars of our work at EPA. Giving the public easy access to the same information EPA uses will help open the lines of communication, increase knowledge and understanding, and open the doors of EPA," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "Americans have a right to know the background of decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. We're taking a big step forward in opening government to the people.

"The publically accessible HERO database provides an easy way to review the scientific literature behind EPA science assessments, which are used to support agency decision-making. The database includes more than 300,000 scientific articles including the authors, titles, dates, and abstracts. In addition, through a simple keyword search, anyone can see information from the articles that were used to develop specific risk assessments.

HERO includes peer-reviewed literature used by EPA to develop its Integrated Science Assessments (ISA) that feed into the NAAQS review. It also includes references and data from the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), a database that supports critical agency policymaking for chemical regulation. Click for more information on the HERO database and the IRIS database.

Call for Manuscripts: Rochester Studies in Medical History

2010-03-24T14:01:00.003-04:00

The University of Rochester Press is seeking manuscripts for its series Rochester Studies in Medical History (RSMH). The Editor of the Series is Theodore M. Brown, Ph.D., Professor of History, Community and Preventive Medicine, and Medical Humanities at the University of Rochester. He is assisted by a panel of distinguished scholars from a variety of institutions. The editorial board is seeking a mix of titles and formats, ranging from monographs by a single author to edited volumes representing many authors and points of view.

The series has three major foci: the history of public health and health policy; the history of clinical and investigative medicine; and the history of the social and cultural significance of medicine and disease. Special interests include the history of measures aimed at controlling disease in populations, biomedical and epidemiological research and their applications in practice, and the cultural implications of medicine and its institutions.

Anyone interested in making a submission for consideration is requested to send a project proposal or prospectus. The project proposal should include: 1) a brief but detailed synopsis of the work, outlining its intended contribution to the existing literature; 2) an abstract of 300 words or less, summarizing the work's content; 3) a complete Table of Contents; 4) one sample chapter. All scholars with an interest in submitting their work for consideration should contact the Editor.

Theodore M. Brown, Ph.D., Series Editor
University of Rochester

Send proposals to:

University of Rochester Press
668 Mt. Hope Avenue
Rochester, New York 14620
E-mail: urpress@mail.rochester.edu
Website: http://www.urpress.com/

O'Malley Research Fellowships for the History of Medicine at UCLA

2010-03-24T08:31:00.002-04:00

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and History & Special Collections for the Sciences, in the UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library, are pleased to announce the availability of the 2010-2011 Charles Donald O’Malley Short-Term Research Fellowships (Adobe PDF document) to further investigation into the history of medical thought and healing practice and art from the earliest times to the recent past. Two fellowships will be awarded, each of which carries a grant of up to $1500 to defray travel and residence costs for research conducted at UCLA special collections libraries between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents with a legal right to work in the United States who are engaged in graduate level, post-doctoral, or independent research are invited to apply. The fellowships are available to graduate students and independent scholars primarily interested in using History & Special Collections for the Sciences, the UCLA Library Special Collections unit located in the Biomedical Library. Other special collections on the UCLA campus also may be used, including the William Andrews Clark Library, Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections, and University Archives.

The award commemorates the work of Charles D. O’Malley, Ph.D. (1907-70), the Vesalian scholar and first full-time chair of the Department of Medical History at UCLA. O’Malley pioneered the study of the history of medicine at UCLA and facilitated its growth.

Applications must be received on or before May 15, 2010. For further information, visit the library's web site.

President Signs Health Care Reform Bill

2010-03-23T15:28:00.003-04:00

President Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on March 23, 2010.

For a related post on the debate surrounding health care reform and the passage of Medicare in 1965, see "Operation Coffeecup and Socialized Medicine."

Women's History Month 2010

2010-03-18T11:13:00.013-04:00

Women's History Month is celebrated every March, and International Women's Day every March 8th. In 1987, the National Women's History Project (NWHP) successfully petitioned Congress to expand Women's History Week to Women's History Month. The NWHP is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with the theme Writing Women Back into History. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have used this theme to jointly create an online project to highlight the many individual and collective contributions of women to history.

Below are some additional resources that focus on the achievements of women in medicine and science, as well as the women's suffrage movement in North Carolina and nationally. The UNC online catalog also offers up many library resources related to women's history, both electronic and print; see, for example, subject searches for Women Physicians; Women Scientists; Women's Rights; and Women's History.

Among many examples of prominent women represented in Special Collections at the Health Sciences Library are the medical pioneers Florence Nightingale and Susan Dimock:

:: Florence Nightingale [1820-1910], known as the “Lady with the Lamp” for her service during the Crimean War, was a pioneering nurse, statistician, author, and educator. In 1860 she opened the Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London, for which her book, Notes on Nursing (1859), served as the cornerstone of the curriculum. Several of her handwritten letters from Special Collections have been digitized and are available online; many of her published works are also available in the library.

:: Susan Dimock [1847-1875] of Washington, North Carolina, was a pioneer among women physicians in America. Denied access to medical education, she pursued her studies abroad, graduating from the University of Zurich in 1871; her dissertation on puerperal fever, written in German, is available online as part of the International Theses Collection at HSL. In 1872, Dr. Dimock was appointed the resident physician of the New England Hospital of Women and Children, and played a key role in developing a formal training program for nurses. This same year she was granted honorary membership in the Medical Society of the State of North Carolina--it's first female member.

See also related entries on Women's History on the Carolina Curator blog.

:: Women Nobel Laureates (Nobel Foundation)
The Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women 41 times between 1901 and 2009. Only one woman, Marie Curie, has been honoured twice, with the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This means that 40 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2009.

Ten women have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first being Gerty Theresa Cori in 1947 for her contribution to the "discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen," and the most recent being Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider in 2009, for their work on "the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."

:: Profiles in Science (National Library of Medicine)
This site celebrates twentieth-century leaders in biomedical research and public health. It makes the archival collections of prominent scientists, physicians, and others who have advanced the scientific enterprise available to the public through modern digital technology.

Rosalind Franklin [1920-1958] -- A British chemist and crystallographer who is best known for her role in the discovery of the structure of DNA.

Barbara McClintock [1902-1992] -- An American geneticist who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of genetic transposition, or the ability of genes to change position on the chromosome.

Florence Rena Sabin [1871-1953] -- An American anatomist and medical researcher. Her excellent and innovative work on the origins of the lymphatic system, blood cells, and immune system cells, and on the pathology of tuberculosis was well-recognized during her lifetime.

Maxine Singer [b. 1931] -- A leading molecular biologist and science advocate. She has made important contributions to the deciphering of the genetic code and to our understanding of RNA and DNA, the chemical elements of heredity.

Virginia Apgar [ 1909-1974] -- An American physician who is best known for the Apgar Score, a simple, rapid method for assessing newborn viability.

Mary Lasker [1900-1994] -- Medical philanthropist, political strategist, and health activist. Lasker acted as the catalyst for the rapid growth of the biomedical research enterprise in the United States after World War II.

:: Online Exhibitions (National Library of Medicine)

Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America's Women Physicians

"That Girl There Is Doctor in Medicine": Elizabeth Blackwell, America's First Woman M.D.

:: Women's History in North Carolina (UNC's Documenting the American South)
North Carolina women have proven themselves to be pioneering, revolutionary, and industrious. From the Edenton Tea Party to the Civil War to World War I fundraisers, and beyond, they have agitated relentlessly for social improvement and against injustice.

:: North Carolina and the Struggle for Women's Suffrage (UNC's Documenting the American South)
The flyers, speeches, and documents summarized here, dated from approximately 1915 to 1920, represent the controversy surrounding the final push for women's suffrage in the United States. Proceedings of the Second Annual Convention of the Equal Suffrage Association, a publication of the Equal Suffrage Association of North Carolina, illustrates in detail the goals and operation of the suffrage group.

:: The HerStory Scrapbook (New York Times)
The right to vote is a fundamental principle of democracy. From 1917 to 1920, the New York Times published over 3,000 articles, editorials, and letters about the women who were fighting for, and against, suffrage. The HerStory Scrapbook includes more than 900 of the most interesting pieces from that period. It is the equivalent of having had someone save articles from the Times in a scrapbook for prosperity.

GrantSource Library Workshops and Resources

2010-03-16T13:32:00.001-04:00

The GrantSource Library is part of the Office of Information and Communications, one of the Research at Carolina offices under the direction of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. The library provides information and services to UNC-Chapel Hill faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students seeking funding for research, collaborative projects, fellowships and other scholarly activities. It also provides assistance and instruction to groups and individuals on the best use of our resources, and offer a series of workshops:

:: Monthly Workshop Schedule for Graduate and Professional Students

:: Customized Workshops for Graduate and Professional Students

:: Departmental Workshop Schedule for Faculty, Postdoctoral Scholars, and Staff

:: Workshop Presentations [PowerPoint downloads]

The workshops cover the fundamentals of funding sources, tips for researching funding opportunities, and hands-on instruction in the best use of online funding resources, including the Community of Science (COS) funding database and customizable alert service.

For further information, visit the GrantSource Library web site, or contact staff by email (gs@unc.edu) or phone (919-962-3463).

Bullitt Club Lecture: "The South's Secret Weapons: Disease, Environment, and the Civil War"

2010-03-15T14:53:00.003-04:00

The next meeting of the Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us at 5:30pm for light refreshments followed by the lecture at 6pm. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Margaret Humphreys, the Josiah Charles Trent Professor in the History of Medicine at Duke University, will be presenting a lecture entitled, "The South's Secret Weapons: Disease, Environment, and the Civil War."

Dr. Humphreys received her PhD in the History of Science (1983) and MD (1987) from Harvard University. She is the author of Yellow Fever and the South (1992) and Malaria: Poverty, Race, and Public Health in the United States (2001), books that explore the tropical disease environment of the American South, and its role in the national public health effort. She teaches the history of medicine, public health, and biology at Duke University, where she also edits the Journal of the History of Medicine. Her current research concerns the impact of the Civil War on American Medicine. The first book to emerge from that project, Intensely Human: The Health of the Black Soldier in the American Civil War, appeared in 2008.

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including the schedule for 2009-10 and mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the Bullitt web site.

Dean Gasaway Tribute Symposium: Digital Publication and Libraries

2010-03-15T12:31:00.010-04:00

The North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology of the UNC School of Law presents:

The Dean Laura N. Gasaway Tribute Symposium: Digital Publication and Libraries

Please join us in honoring Dean Laura "Lolly" Gasaway's three decades of service to copyright, libraries, and the legal and scholarly community.

March 19, 2010
1:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
The Carolina Inn
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Admission is free

The Symposium will comprise four consecutive panels:

:: Copyright and Libraries: The Challenge (Donna Nixon moderating)
Deborah Gerhardt - University of North Carolina
Julie Cohen - Georgetown University
Jessica Litman - University of Michigan
Sally Wiant - Washington & Lee University
Madelyn Wessel - University of Virginia

:: Copyright and Digital Distribution (Anne Klinefelter moderating)
Kate Spelman - Cobalt
Nancy Wolff - Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, LLP
Llew Gibbons - University of Toledo
Jon Baumgarten - Proskauer Rose, LLP

:: §108 and Google Book Search Revisited (Peter Hirtle moderating)
Laura Gasaway - University of North Carolina
Dick Rudick - Copyright Clearance Center
Glynn Lunney - Tulane University
Tony Reese - University of California at Irvine

:: §108 Lessons Learned (David Harrison moderating)
Mary Beth Peters - U.S. Register of Copyrights
Mary Rasenberger - Policy Advisor for U.S. Copyright Office & OSI
Kenny Crews - Columbia University
Ann Bartow - University of South Carolina

For more information, please visit the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology web site.

Library of Congress to Offer Junior Fellows Summer Internships

2010-03-15T11:04:00.002-04:00

This summer the Library of Congress is once again offering special 10-week paid internships to college students. For a stipend of $3,000, the 2010 class of Junior Fellows Summer Interns will work full-time from June 7 through August 13 with Library specialists to inventory, describe, and explore collection holdings and to assist with digital preservation outreach activities throughout the Library. The focus of the program is on increasing access to collections and awareness of the Library’s digital preservation programs by making them better known and accessible to researchers including scholars, students, teachers and the general public.

The interns will be exposed to a broad spectrum of library work: preservation, reference, access standards and information management. The program is made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Jefferson Patterson and the James Madison Council.

In addition to the stipend (paid in bi-weekly segments), interns will be eligible to take part in programs offered at the Library. Interns are temporary employees of the Library, and as such are not eligible for federal employee benefits and privileges.

Applications will be accepted online only at USAJobs.gov, keyword: 1840256, from Friday, March 12, 2010, through midnight, Friday, March 26, 2010. For more details about the program and information on how to apply, visit www.loc.gov/hr/jrfellows/. Questions about the program may be sent to interns2010@loc.gov.

Anesthesia History Association to Meet in North Carolina

2010-03-13T22:26:00.005-05:00

The Anesthesia History Association (AHA), in conjunction with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, will be holding its 16th Annual Meeting on April 8-10, 2010, at the Brookstown Inn in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The featured speaker will be Dr. K. Patrick Ober, Professor of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University and author of Mark Twain and Medicine: "Any Mummery Will Cure."

Annual meetings are held in various parts of the United States, and a brief interim meeting and dinner is held annually during the ASA Annual Meeting. Annual Meeting programs include plenary sessions devoted to targeted subject relative to anesthesia history or the teaching of history. "Free Papers" are devoted to historical events, trends, biography, etc related to medicine and to anesthesia.

This year's meeting will begin on Thursday, April 8, with a tour of Old Salem and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. The educational sessions will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday and conclude at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Additional information regarding the 2010 AHA spring meeting is available from Robert Strickland, M.D., rastrick@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4498, or Sherri Stockner, sstockne@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-2712; the AHA web site also provides further information.

Edward Tufte Named to Recovery Independent Advisory Panel

2010-03-08T18:45:00.006-05:00

President Obama on March 5, 2010 named four members to the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, including Edward Tufte, the noted expert on information design and visualization. The White House provided the following bio for Tufte on its blog:

Edward Tufte is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Statistics, and Computer Science at Yale University. He wrote, designed, and self-published The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, Envisioning Information, Visual Explanations, and Beautiful Evidence, which have received 40 awards for content and design. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, the Society for Technical Communication, and the American Statistical Association. He received his PhD in political Science from Yale University and BS and MS in statistics from Stanford University.

On his own website, Tufte made the following comments on the appointment:

I will be serving on the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel. This Panel advises The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, whose job is to track and explain $787 billion in recovery stimulus funds:

"The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 with two goals:

To provide transparency in relation to the use of Recovery-related funds. To prevent and detect fraud, waste, and mismanagement. Earl E. Devaney was appointed by President Obama to serve as chairman of the Recovery Board. Twelve Inspectors General from various federal agencies serve with Chairman Devaney. The Board issues quarterly and annual reports to the President and Congress and, if necessary, "flash reports" on matters that require immediate attention. In addition, the Board maintains the Recovery.gov website so the American people can see how Recovery money is being distributed by federal agencies and how the funds are being used by the recipients.

Mission statement: To promote accountability by coordinating and conducting oversight of Recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse and to foster transparency on Recovery spending by providing the public with accurate, user friendly information."

I'm doing this because I like accountability and transparency, and I believe in public service. And it is the complete opposite of everything else I do. Maybe I'll learn something. The practical consequence is that I will probably go to Washington several days each month, in addition to whatever homework and phone meetings are necessary.

The others named to the Panel include Steven Koch, Chris Sale, and Malcolm K. Sparrow.

Marjorie Howard Futcher Digital Photo Collection

2010-03-08T10:44:00.007-05:00

The Osler Library of the History of Medicine and the McGill University Library are pleased to announce the launch of the online Marjorie Howard Futcher Photo Collection. This is a series of close to one thousand images arranged in two albums dating from 1890 to 1910 by Marjorie Howard Futcher (1882-1969), daughter of the former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Osler’s mentor R. Palmer Howard.

The site contains a number of photographs of medical people, including Sir William Osler (1849-1919), Dean of McGill Medicine Francis Shepherd (1851-1929), and even Dr. John McCrae (1872-1918), later famous for his poem In Flanders Fields. It also illustrates the social life of a young, well-connected Montreal woman during the period, including school days in England and Germany, and vacations in the lower St Lawrence area of Metis-sur-Mer, England, Scotland, Paris and Italy. The site provides an insight into the intersection of the worlds of elite medicine and wealth.

Viewers can virtually flip through the photo albums, replicating the experience of examining the originals and also seeing each picture in its larger context.

The original albums were donated to the Osler Library by Mrs Futcher’s son, Dr Palmer Howard Futcher of Baltimore, in 1998. We are grateful to the McGill Faculty of Medicine Class of 1978, whose generous class gift helped make this possible, and to those who contributed to this project.

For more information, please contact the Osler Library at osler.library@mcgill.ca or 514-398-4475, ext 09873.

Note: The image above (#FUT1_002-001_P) is from the Osler Library collection, and depicts Majorie Howard Futcher in 1900 at Métis-sur-Mer (Québec).

UNC Launches First Global Health Challenge Competition

2010-03-04T11:21:00.003-05:00

UNC is launching the first Global Health Challenge, an interdisciplinary case competition for UNC students of all levels. Students will work together on teams to develop innovative solutions to a topical global health situation. Teams of 4-6 students will present their recommendations to a panel of expert judges.

First Prize: $2,500
Second Prize: $1,000

UNC’s Global Health Challenge is developed and executed by a multidisciplinary student planning committee. The 2010 planning committee consists of students from the schools of public health, law, business, pharmacy and dentistry.

Key Dates

:: Registration will begin on Monday, March 1 and will close on Monday, March 15. The competition is limited to 10 teams and we expect the field to fill quickly.

:: Monday, March 22 is the mandatory kick-off event where registrants will receive important competition information and obtain the case materials. Teams may work on the case at their discretion over the course of the week.

:: Friday, March 26: Team work space and food will be provided from noon to midnight. Presentations are due March 26th at midnight.

:: Saturday, March 27, 9:00-3:00: Presentations and judging, and announcement of winners.

The Global Health Challenge is sponsored by Futures Group Global and Don and Jennifer Holzworth; the Kenan-Flagler MBA Healthcare Club; the Delta Omega Honor Society; and the UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases.

For more information about the Global Health Challenge competition, contact Kristen Brugh, or visit the Global Health Challenge web site.

Registration Underway for 2010 American Association for the History of Medicine Annual Meeting

2010-03-02T16:06:00.004-05:00

Registration is now underway for the 2010 American Association for the History of Medicine annual meeting in Rochester, Minnesota, April 29 to May 2.

:: Meeting Registration Information
-- Early registration fee on or before March 26: $185
-- Fee after March 26: $225
-- Student Fee: $125

:: Hotel Registration Information
-- Note that rooms at the conference rate are being booked quickly.

:: Continuing Medical Education

:: Preliminary Program [pdf]

Information for Students

The Student Section of the American Association for the History of Medicine will meet for its fourth annual luncheon on Saturday May 1st at noon at Victoria’s (located in the Kahler Hotel). Please sign up for the lunch on the conference registration form, and note that students will need to pay for their own meals.

The AAHM has generously secured student room rates of $59 (+ 11% tax) in rooms with either two twin beds or one queen bed. Ask for the student rate when contacting the Kahler Hotel. If you would like help finding a roommate, please contact Jacob Steere-Williams, University of Minnesota, Chair, AAHM Ad-Hoc Committee on Student Affairs (will2019@umn.edu).

The Student Section is again implementing the Conference Buddy Program, which introduces new members to seasoned veterans. If you are new to AAHM and would like to participate, please sign up on the registration form.

Exhibition of Drawings at Health Sciences Library

2010-02-28T17:53:00.002-05:00

The Health Sciences Library (HSL) will be hosting an exhibition of former Associate Provost Ned Brook’s drawings featuring UNC-CH campus buildings and Franklin Street townscapes. The collection will be displayed from Feb. 21, 2010 through June 30, 2010.

"A few of these pieces reflect where I've lived,” said Brooks. “One of them is from New England where I grew up. A couple are from Alaska where I spent three years in the late 1960s as a hospital administrator with the Alaska Native Health Service. The vast majority, though, are from [Chapel Hill] where I've lived since 1972."

The exhibit will display 20 original drawings featuring poignant portraits, Franklin Street townscapes, UNC-CH buildings, and rural and coastal scenes. The drawings will be displayed in several prominent locations on the first and second floors of the HSL. Read more . . .

UNC University Libraries and Health Sciences Library to Consolidate

2010-02-28T17:29:00.006-05:00

The University Gazette on February 24, 2010 reported that: "Beginning April 1, the Health Sciences Library and the University Libraries will be combined under University Librarian Sarah Michalak. Currently the two library systems are separate. Consolidating the collaborative but separate structures of both libraries is intended to help improve the efficiency of overall library operations in meeting the University's teaching, service, and research missions, Bruce Carney, interim executive vice chancellor and provost, said in announcing the change on Feb. 12." Read more on page 6 of the Gazette.

New Digital Resources at UNC University Libraries

2010-02-23T15:36:00.002-05:00

:: Digital Southern Historical Collection
The Southern Historical Collection (SHC) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) has developed a large-scale digitization program that is designed to provide online access to entire manuscript collections or to substantial portions of collections. Thirty-five collections have so far been digitized in whole or in part under this program. Clicking on a collection name will take you to the collection's finding aid (a descriptive guide to the collection's contents). To search for other SHC collections or other digitized collections in UNC University Libraries, please use the online catalog, the finding aids search page, or browse an online listing of digital collections. (UNC Health Sciences Library Digital Collections can also be accessed online; information on the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection grant project is available here). Read more . . .

:: Digital UNC Student Yearbooks
A slice of UNC history is now online with digitized student yearbooks from 1890 through 1966 and early issues of the Carolina Alumni Review. The Hellenian and Yackety Yack yearbooks provide a rich resource for learning about student life in the past, said Nick Graham, program coordinator of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center based at UNC's Wilson Special Collections Library. Read more . . .

National Library of Medicine to End Go Local Program

2010-02-23T14:36:00.003-05:00

Since 2001, the National Library of Medicine has supported Go Local web sites across the United States. The goal of Go Local was to connect users to health services in their local communities. This seemed like a natural extension to MedlinePlus, which provides health information. In 2001, Go Local was a unique service.

Over the past nine years, the Internet has evolved. Search engines that people use daily, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, bring health services listings to users. These sites include provider-level directory information and can collect user reviews that Go Local cannot. Health insurance sites give insured users local practice details, such as hours, fees, parking, and quality ratings based on provider or facility performance measures. To include this granularity in Go Local would not be feasible.

The changed Internet environment, coupled with declining use, has led to a decision by NLM to phase down and end its support for the MedlinePlus Go Local program. Resources are tight throughout our profession and as the internet has moved forward, it no longer makes sense to use scarce resources to compete with machine-based indexing used by the search engines.
NLM is grateful to the hundreds of people whose time, labor, ideas and patience went into creating Go Local. For many years we could proudly point to Go Local as a unique and valuable service to so many people in this country. We will be working with our partners around the country as they make decisions about what to do in their local areas.

Source: Newsletter of the NN/LM Southeastern/Atlantic Region.

Note: In North Carolina, Go Local online resources have been provided by NC Health Info, a service of the UNC Health Sciences Library and collaborators.

Symposium on 100th Anniversary of Flexner Report

2010-02-22T11:13:00.004-05:00

The University of Louisville School of Medicine and Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare will host a symposium in honor of the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Flexner Report on May 4, 2010. Abraham Flexner was born and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and we are pleased to host this symposium in honor of one of the city’s distinguished citizens. We invite interested persons to send proposals for papers concerning any aspect of the life and work of Abraham Flexner and his Report on Medical Education in the United States and Canada.

Proposals for either a 15-minute platform presentation or poster should be described in one page and submitted to the symposium chairman by March 1, 2010:

M.S. Seyal, M.D.
207 Sparks Avenue, Suite 104
Jeffersonville, IN 47130

The symposium will include keynote addresses by Dr. Kenneth Ludmerer (Washington University – St. Louis), Dr. Todd Savitt (East Carolina University), and Senior Officials of the Association of the American Medical Colleges and the Association of American Colleges of Nursing.

For meeting registration and hotel accommodations, please contact: Carmel Mackin at: cfmack01@louisville.edu.

2010 Virginia and Derrick Sherman Emerging Scholar Lecture

2010-02-22T11:03:00.003-05:00

The University of North Carolina Wilmington Department of History invites applications and nominations for the 2010 Virginia and Derrick Sherman Emerging Scholar Lecture. This year's topic is: Plagues and Pandemics: Contagion and Epidemic in Global Historical Perspective.

Proposals may address, but are not limited to, histories of the spread of infectious disease, disease and war, disease and commerce, efforts to eradicate disease, public health policy, and programs to promote public hygiene. Applicants are encouraged to explore the social, cultural, political, gendered and/or economic histories of their topics. Submissions concerning all time periods and all geographic regions are welcome.

The Sherman Lecture provides a forum for an outstanding junior scholar (untenured assistant professor or researcher) to offer his or her perspective on a selected topic. The Sherman Scholar will meet with undergraduate and graduate students, share his or her expertise with faculty members in history and related fields, and be available to the local media. The centerpiece of the scholar's visit will be the presentation of a major public address, which the university will subsequently publish.

Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of scholarly accomplishment, relevance of the proposed talk to the year's theme, and evidence of ability in speaking before a diverse audience. The scholar will receive an honorarium of $5,000. The lectureship will take place on the UNCW campus October 20-22, 2010.

Applicants should provide a title and brief description of the lecture they propose to deliver. Please send a letter of interest, current c.v., the names and e-mail addresses of three references, and a recent scholarly publication to Dr. Taylor Fain, Department of History, UNC Wilmington, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403-5957. We also welcome nominations that are accompanied by contact information.

The deadline for submission is March 31, 2010. Finalists must be available for telephone interviews before May 31, 2010.

Any additional questions can be directed toward Taylor Fain at: fainwt@uncw.edu.

Call for Papers: Joint Atlantic Seminar for the History of Medicine

2010-02-22T10:41:00.005-05:00

The 8th Annual Joint Atlantic Seminar for the History of Medicine, will be held the weekend of October 8-9, 2010, and hosted by the Department of History and program on the History of Science, Technology, Environment and Health at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. The seminar is organized and coordinated by graduate students across North America working in fields related to the history of medicine.

Our mission is to foster a sense of community and provide a forum for sharing and critiquing graduate research by peers from a variety of institutions and backgrounds. For more information, including previous years’ programs, please visit the organization's web site.

Graduate students are encouraged to submit abstracts for research presentations on topics related to the history of health and healing; of medical ideas, practices, and institutions; and of illness, disease, and public health, from all eras and regions of the world. Abstracts should be no more than 350 words and should clearly state the purpose, thesis, methodology, and principal findings of the paper to be presented. Please note that abstracts more than 350 words in length will not be reviewed.

Speakers must be enrolled as graduate students at the time of the conference. Successful proposals will engage with relevant historiographic issues and the potential contribution to scholarship on the history of medicine and health. A panel of graduate students and faculty members from several different institutions will review the abstracts.

All abstracts should be submitted electronically (either as a MS Word document or as text in the body of an e-mail) to Bridget Gurtler and Dora Vargha, Co-Program Chairs, at jasmedconf@gmail.com.

The deadline for abstracts is May 16, 2010.

It is not clear at this time whether or not we will be able to provide financial support for travel to participants. However, we will make every effort to provide free accommodation for presenters. We urge students whose papers are accepted to seek financial support from their home institutions to participate in the seminar. Registration for the conference is free.

Bridget Gurtler and Dora Vargha
PhD Candidates
Department of History
Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Duke Program on Health, Social Justice, and the Civil Rights Movement

2010-02-18T09:34:00.008-05:00

Health, Social Justice, and the Civil Rights Movement
in American Medicine: A Series of Interdisciplinary Programs at Duke University, March 3-4, 2010

With award-winning scholar John Dittmer, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, Depauw University, author of The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care (2009) and Local People: the Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi (1994)

:: The Civil Rights Roots of Healthcare Activism
Wednesday, March 3, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, 2204 Erwin Road, Room 240

A panel discussion with:
John Dittmer, PhD
Sharon Elliott-Bynum, RN, BSN, MA, PhD, Co-Founder & Clinical Director of CAARE, Inc.
Open to the public. Lunch will be served.

:: Health & Social Justice: Practice and Research -- A Forum for Graduate and Professional Students
Wednesday, March 3, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

For readings and location information, contact Abby Goldman, eag14@duke.edu

:: Justice in Healthcare, Today and in the Past: A Conversation with John Dittmer
Thursday, March 4, 5:30 pm -7:00 pm
John Hope Franklin Center, 2204 Erwin Road, Room 240

Panelists will include:
Onye Akwari, MD, Surgery
William Chafe, PhD, History
Dennis Clements, MD, Infectious Disease, Pediatrics, Global Health Institute
Sherman A. James, PhD, Public Policy, Community & Family Medicine, African & African American Studies
Evelyn Schmidt, MD, Director, Lincoln Community Health Center
Open to the public. Wine and cheese reception will follow.

For more information: Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine 919.668-9000 or trent-center@duke.edu. For additional events, see the Trent Center's online calendar.

New Biography on Hugh Williamson, Physician and Patriot

2010-02-16T14:40:00.014-05:00

Dr. George Sheldon, Professor of Surgery and Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has just completed the first full-length biography of Hugh Williamson [1735-1819], an illustrious figure in both American and North Carolina history. Hugh Williamson: Physician, Patriot, and Founding Father recounts the remarkable life of Williamson, who not only was a signer of the US Constitution, but also a polymath who was a member of the University of Pennsylvania's first graduating class, and later studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and trained with the renowned surgeon, John Hunter.

A member of the American Philosophical Society, Williamson was politically engaged as well. He was among the planners of the Boston Tea Party, and later became the surgeon general of the North Carolina Revolutionary War Militia. In 1782, Williamson was elected to the North Carolina legislature, and was chosen to serve in the Continental Congress, where he advocated for federalism; on September 17, 1787, he was one of the signers of the Constitution. Later he served in the first US House of Representatives, and was one of the original trustees of the University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the country.

Published by Humanity Books, an imprint of Prometheus Books, Hugh Williamson has already garnered praise from reviewers:

No longer can we claim that Dr. Hugh Williamson, a signer of the Constitution, is one of our least known Founding Fathers. Dr. Sheldon's wide-ranging biography clearly reveals the political, educational, and philanthropic activities in which this typical Enlightenment figure played significant roles.
-- Gert H. Brieger, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Physician, surgeon, scientist, rebel, sometime spy, politician, and distinguished Founding Father--Hugh Williamson was all these and more. In this fascinating account of Williamson's multifaceted career, Dr. Sheldon . . . has brought a great American patriot to life, and made him unforgettable.
-- Sherwin Nuland, MD, FACS, Yale University School of Medicine

. . . Sheldon has provided [his readers] with a complete, informative, and satisfying "dissection" of a unique, multifaceted life. There is a parallelism between the author and Williamson in that both are recognized, particularly, for their contributions to their adopted state of North Carolina.
-- Seymour I. Schwartz, MD, University of Rochester School of Medicine

Dr. Sheldon is the Zack D. Owens Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the Director of the Health Policy Research Institute of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Editor-in-Chief of e-FACS.org, the web portal of ACS. From 1984-2001 he served as Chair of the Department of Surgery at UNC.

Mobile Options for the National Library of Medicine

2010-02-11T15:47:00.008-05:00

The National Library of Medicine now offers mobile options for such resources as PubMed, MedlinePlus, NCBI Bookshelf, AIDSinfo, Wireless System for Emergency Responders (WISER), and Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM).

Mobile options for the UNC Campus and UNC Libraries are also available. Chad Haefele, the developer of the UNC Libraries mobile site, was recently mentioned in the American Library Associations's Perpetual Beta blog for his Mobile Site Generator, which is described in detail on his own blog, Hidden Peanuts.

National Archives Solicits Input on Open Government Plan

2010-02-09T15:55:00.002-05:00

The Open Government Directive of December 8, 2009 was issued to promote new lines of communication and cooperation between the Federal government and the American people. To meet the goals of Open Government, each Federal agency is creating an Open Government Plan. The National Records and Archives Administration (NARA) is soliciting public input on how it can promote transparency, participation, and collaboration.

Comments can be made via the following forums by March 19, 2010:

:: Open Government Idea Forum
:: NARAtions Blog
:: E-mail: opengov@nara.gov

NARA's Open Government Plan will be released on April 6, 2010 and made available online.

North Carolina's Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law

2010-02-07T14:51:00.007-05:00

As of January 2, 2010, North Carolina's Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law (S.L. 2009-27 (G.S. 130A-496)) requires restaurants, bars, and many lodging establishments to be smoke-free. The web site SmokeFreeNC.gov provides information on the law and rules for enforcement; frequently asked questions; tools for businesses; educational materials; secondhand smoke; quitting tobacco use; contact information for local health departments; complaint forms for reporting violations and a complaint log; and a form for submitting thank you's.

North Carolina Newspapers Digitization Project

2010-02-03T09:18:00.008-05:00

The North Carolina State Archives has recently completed the North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project, which now makes available papers that were previously only available on microfilm. The online collection can be browsed or searched by keyword, year, or newspaper title; an advanced search is also available. Several lesson plans for teachers have been provided through a collaboration with Learn NC. The newspapers in the collection range from the earliest paper published in North Carolina, the North Carolina Gazette in 1751, to the 1890s, and includes titles from the following cities: Edenton (1787-1801), Fayetteville (1798-1795), Hillsboro (1786), New Bern (1751-1804), Salisbury (1799-1898), and Wilmington (1765-1816).

Newspapers document a wide range of social, political, and cultural events, and the North Carolina collection is no exception. Among the 23,483 images currently digitized can be found many topics related to medicine and the history of health. For example, a search on malaria yields 438 items; cancer, 295 items; consumption, 1283 items; syphilis, 119 items; mesmerism, 15 items; and headache, 943 items.

The project was funded by an LSTA grant provided by the State Library of North Carolina, and provides a valuable historical resource for the state.

Note: The newspaper pictured above is the Wilmington Gazette, from November 6, 1800.

Fine Books & Collections Returning to Print

2010-02-02T08:45:00.004-05:00

February 1, 2010, Durham, NC. Fine Books & Collections magazine, which targets collectors of rare and collectible books, will return to a regular print schedule in April 2010.

The magazine had suspended its bi-monthly publication schedule in November 2008, but published an edition in Fall 2009. Based on very positive results, the publishers will return the magazine to print on a quarterly basis. The annual subscription price will be $25.

In announcing its plans, the magazine said it would continue its monthly e-letter online and its very popular blog. According to associate publisher Kim Draper, the web site has grown tremendously in the past year, having just topped 50,000 monthly visitors.

"We don't hope to achieve as much readership in print, but we do think print has a certain charm and value that is impossible to obtain online," says Draper. "It remains a conundrum why collectors of print love reading online, but we are delighted to be able to serve both needs."

The online editor, Rebecca Rego Barry, will also serve as editor of the print edition. According to Barry, the content of the magazine will be a collection of some material used online as well as new features, columns, and resources that will not appear online. "We are intrigued with the idea of archiving some of our best online stories in a print format, but we will also be offering readers new content in each issue. It was a formula that worked very well for us with the edition we published last fall."

The magazine said that it plans some operational changes to make publishing more affordable, most notably that it will not process any subscription without a valid email address. According to Draper, "When we looked at our operation, we realized that contacting people via the postal service was just too expensive. We plan to handle all renewals and communication efforts via email, so there's really no point in having a subscriber with whom we can't communicate."

Writers in the upcoming print edition will include Nicholas Basbanes and Joel Silver, two stalwarts of the book collecting world. The magazine will continue its annual directory of booksellers started last fall that featured more than 700 book-related businesses, and it will add a feature called Biblio/360, an annual guide to classes, societies, fairs, and symposiums related to book collecting.

Bullitt Club Lecture on John Collins Warren: "Gentlemen, This Is No Humbug"

2010-02-01T09:02:00.006-05:00

The Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be meeting Thursday, February 18, 2010 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us from 12 to 1pm for light refreshments and lecture. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Alexander Toledo, Assistant Professor of Surgery at UNC, will be speaking on: "John Collins Warren: 'Gentlemen, This Is No Humbug.'"

Dr. Warren was one of the great figures of American surgery of the nineteenth century. This lecture will focus on the pedigree, career, and contributions of Warren, with special consideration for the birth of anesthesia.

Dr. Toledo works in the Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery in the UNC Department of Surgery. He received his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Michigan, followed by a residency in general surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center and a fellowship in transplant at Northwestern University. Among his specialties are solid organ transplant, pediatric transplant, living-related organ donation, and adult and pediatric intestinal transplant.

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including the schedule for 2009-10 and mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the organization's web site.

Image source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Scene above is believed to be a re-enactment of the demonstration of ether anesthesia by W.T.G. Morton on October 16, 1846. Mr. Holman with surgeons: John Mason Warren, George Hayward, Solomon D. Townsend, John Collins Warren and James Johnson around man on operating table.

Documentary on Depleted Uranium and Radioactive Weapons

2010-01-27T15:20:00.005-05:00

The Doctor, the Depleted Uranium, and the Dying Children
"An award winning documentary film produced for German television by Freider Wagner and Valentin Thurn. The film exposes the use and impact of radioactive weapons during the current war against Iraq. The story is told by citizens of many nations. It opens with comments by two British veterans, Kenny Duncan and Jenny Moore, describing their exposure to radioactive, so-called depleted uranium (DU), weapons and the congenital abnormalities of their children. Dr. Siegwart-Horst Gunther, a former colleague of Albert Schweitzer, and Tedd Weyman of the Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC) traveled to Iraq, from Germany and Canada respectively, to assess uranium contamination in Iraq."

The Legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

2010-01-26T18:11:00.010-05:00

Tsutomu Yamaguchi [1916-2010], a survivor of the atomic bombing of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, died recently at age 93. Although it is estimated that 165 people survived both blasts, Yamaguchi is the only one officially recognized by the Japanese government as a nijyuu hibakusha, or twice-bombed person. Late in life Yamaguchi publically advocated for nuclear disarmament through speeches, songs, and books, and his death was reported around the world, including obituaries in the New York Times and the Guardian.

The health consequences of war-time radiation exposure were profound, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and illnesses; subsequent generations have also suffered due to genetic damage and birth defects. Special Collections at Health Sciences Library has several works related to the atomic bombings, with one of the most notable being Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of a Japanese Physician, August 6 - September 30, 1945. Published in 1955 by University of North Carolina Press, it is a firsthand account by Dr. Michihiko Hachiya, director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital, and describes his own injuries and the mass destruction surrounding him (UNC Press republished the book in 1995 with a new foreword by John Dower).

Warner Wells, M.D., a surgeon at the UNC School of Medicine from 1952 until his retirement in 1973, edited and supervised the translation of Hiroshima Diary. Wells learned of Hachiya's diary through his work as a surgical consultant for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, which he joined in 1950. It appeared in segments in the Japanese medical journal, Teishin Igaku, and in spring 1951, Wells met Hachiya and obtained his consent to translate and publish the diary in English. He was assisted by Dr. Neal Tsukifuji, a Japanese-American doctor, and consulted frequently with Hachiya. Wells also visited all the places mentioned in the diary, and noted this about the translation process: "Trying to relive Dr. Hichiya's experience, I succeed to the extent that I came to dream of the bombing and on occasion awakened in terror."

An account of Hiroshima from an American's perspective is Averill A. Liebow's Encounter with Disaster: A Medical Diary of Hiroshima, 1945. A physician, Dr. Liebow was a member of the Joint Atomic Bomb Commission in Japan. His diary records the formation of the Commission, the establishment of a working relation with Japanese medical investigators, and daily activities from September 18 to December 6, 1945; it also describes the preparation of the Army Institute of Pathology's report on Hiroshima that was completed on September 7, 1946.

Subject searches on Hiroshima and Nagasaki yield many resources at UNC University Libraries; some of the titles at the Health Sciences Library include:

:: Hiroshima under Atomic Bomb Attack [1954]
:: Ichiban: Radiation Dosimetry for the Survivors of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki [1977]
:: US-Japan Joint Reassessment of Atomic Bomb Radiation Dosimetry in Hiroshima and Nagasaki [1987]
:: Suffering Made Real: American Science and the Survivors at Hiroshima [1994]
:: Reassessment of the Atomic Bomb Radiation Dosimetry for Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Dosimetry System 2002: Report of the Joint US-Japan Working Group [2005]

With nuclear weapons a mainstay of the arsenals of the world's most powerful military forces, the threat of wartime radiation exposure continues today. Depleted uranium is also utilized in weaponry in active war zones (see, for example, the 2004 documentary, The Doctor, the Depleted Uranium, and the Dying Children, which examines the impact of radioactive weapons in Iraq). In Japan, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation is a joint Japanese-American scientific organization devoted to the study of the health effects of nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is an independent organization created by the United Nations in 1956 that was given impetus by President Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace speech to the UN General Assembly on December 8, 1953. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, opened for signature in 1968 and entering into force in 1970, is one of the main international instruments governing the use of nuclear weapons, and limits to five the number of declared nuclear weapons states: United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China, which coincidentally are the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Originally intended to last 25 years, the treaty was extended indefinitely during a UN review conference in 1995.

UNC Law School Sponsors Forum on Reader Privacy in the Digital World

2010-01-20T13:13:00.005-05:00

Reader Privacy: Should Library Privacy Standards Apply in the Digital World?

January 22, 2010
8:30am - 12:30pm

UNC-CH School of Law
Room 4085

As reading expands from a world of print publications to electronic formats, can and should we retain traditional notions of reader privacy? Just what is the privacy we have come to expect as readers of books, and do these notions of privacy translate effectively in the world of Google Book Search, the Kindle, the Sony Reader --- or to the many pages of text we read online daily?

Keynote Speaker John Palfrey, Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources and Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and Co-Director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, introduces a discussion about these issues of the policy and law of reader privacy.

Two panels of speakers explore whether special protection for readers of library books merit recognition in the electronic environment. Speakers include Jane Horvath, Global Privacy Counsel for Google Inc.; Andrew McDiarmid, Policy Analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology; Lili Levi, Professor of Law at the University of Miami; Annie Anton, Professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University and Director of ThePrivacyPlace.org; Paula J. Bruening, Deputy Director of the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams LLP; and Anne Klinefelter, Director of the Law Library and Associate Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina. Moderators are Bill Marshall, William Rand Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina and David Hoffman, Director of Security Policy and Global Privacy Officer at Intel Corporation.

This event is held in honor of Data Privacy Day 2010 and is sponsored by the University of North Carolina School of Law, the UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, the UNC Kathrine R. Everett Law Library, the UNC University Libraries, the UNC School of Information and Library Science and The Privacy Projects. The Privacy Projects thanks the Official Sponsors of Data Privacy Day 2010 for their support: Intel, Microsoft, Google, AT&T, and LexisNexis.

Questions about the event should be directed to Anne Klinefelter at klinefel@email.unc.edu.

Questions about Data Privacy should be directed to Jolynn Dellinger at jolynn@dataprivacyday.org.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, complete the form available online.

2010 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine

2010-01-14T13:04:00.006-05:00

The American Association for the History of Medicine's next annual meeting will be held April 29 to May 2, 2010 in Rochester, Minnesota, and a preliminary program is now available online (pdf). Local presenters and moderators include Prof. Michael McVaugh (UNC History), Sian Hunter (University of North Carolina Press), Dr. Jeffrey Baker (Duke) and Dr. Margaret Humphreys (Duke).

Dr. Keith Wailoo of Rutgers University, who will be speaking to the Bullitt Club on January 19, 2010, will be delivering the AAHM's annual Fielding H. Garrison Lecture on "The Politics of Pain: Liberal Medicine, Conservative Care, and the Governance of Relief in America since the 1950s."

Registration details for the annual meeting will be made available later on the AAHM web site. President W. Bruce Frye in a President's Message invites participants to Rochester and gives a history of the renowned Mayo Clinic. The Rochester Art Center will also be hosting a major exhibition, "Five Centuries of Medicine and Art," to coincide with the annual meeting.

Membership in AAHM is $85/year for individuals and $25/year for students.

The AAHM has recently published new issues of both its Newsletter (October 2009) and Bulletin of the History of Medicine (Vol. 83, No. 4, Winter 2009).

Dibner Library Resident Scholar Program at Smithsonian

2010-01-14T12:19:00.002-05:00

The Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology Resident Scholar Program, supported by The Dibner Fund, awards stipends of $3,500.00 per month for up to six months for individuals working on a topic relating to the history of science and technology who can make substantial use of collections in the Dibner Library. Historians, librarians, doctoral students, and post-doctoral scholars are welcome to apply. Scholars must be in residence at the Dibner Library during the award period. Scholars wanting to do research in other areas of SI Libraries' Special Collections should apply for the Baird Society Resident Scholar Program.

The core of the holdings of the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology consists of approximately 10,000 rare books and manuscripts that were generously donated to the nation by the Burndy Library (founded by Bern Dibner) on the occasion of the nation's Bicentennial (1976). The strengths of the Dibner Library collection are in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, classical natural philosophy, theoretical physics (up to the early twentieth century), experimental physics (especially electricity and magnetism), engineering technology (from the Renaissance to the late nineteenth century), and scientific apparatus and instruments.

The rare books, which date from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries, include significant holdings of works by Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Euclid, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Leonhard Euler, René Descartes, and Pierre Simon, marquis de Laplace, and Aristotle. Scientists represented by significant manuscript papers include Dominique François Arago, Humphry Davy, John William Lubbock, Isaac Newton, Henri Milne-Edwards, Hans Christian Øersted, Henry Hureau de Sénarmont, Benjamin Silliman, Jr., and Silvanus P. Thompson. The Dibner Library collections support the research interests of Smithsonian staff in the National Museum of American History, and provide valuable resources for the other Smithsonian museums and research units.

To be competitive, the applicant should describe in detail how he/she intends to use the collections of the Dibner Library. While the Libraries' extensive general collections may be used to support scholars' research, the focus of their projects must center around the Dibner Library's Special Collections.

To learn more about the collection, please visit the Dibner Library's website. Our holdings are searchable via the SI Libraries' online catalog, SIRIS.

How To Apply

To apply, download the application in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) from the link below, and return the completed application to the address below.

To have an application form mailed to you or for further information, call 202-633-3872, or email SILResidentScholars@si.edu.

The deadline is April 1st, 2010 for appointments during the 2011 calendar year. Applications must be postmarked by this date to be considered.

Researcher James Hansen to Speak on Global Climate Change

2010-01-14T09:04:00.005-05:00

James Hansen, internationally recognized as a leading expert on global climate change, will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, February 1, 2010.

Hansen will discuss “Global Climate Change: What Must We Do Now?” He comes to UNC as the Frey Foundation Distinguished Visiting Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences. His lecture, at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall, is free to the public and no advanced tickets are required.

A public reception and book-signing will follow the lecture. Hansen’s new book is Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity.

In 2006, Time magazine named Hansen one of the world’s most influential people. Former vice president Al Gore said about the climatologist: “When the history of the climate crisis is written, [James] Hansen will be seen as the scientist with the most powerful and consistent voice calling for intelligent action to preserve our planet’s environment.”

Hansen is director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. He is best known for his Congressional testimony on climate change in the 1980s — an early scientific voice that helped raise broad awareness of global warming. He created one of the first models of climate change about 30 years ago and has used it to predict much of what has happened since.

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995, he has been an active researcher in planetary atmospheres and climate science for nearly 40 years, with the last 30 years focused on climate research.

In addition to numerous testimonies given to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Hansen twice made presentations to former President George W. Bush’s Climate and Energy Task Force.

The Frey Foundation Professorship was established in 1989 to bring to campus distinguished leaders from government, public policy and the arts. David Gardner Frey chairs the foundation established by his parents, Edward J. and Frances Frey of Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1974. He earned bachelor’s and law degrees at Carolina in 1964 and 1967, respectively.

Hansen's visit is also in conjunction with the Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology, the Department of Marine Sciences, the Department of Public Policy, and the Institute for the Environment.

Parking for the lecture is available in commercial lots on Rosemary Street. For more information on the lecture, call (919) 843-6339 or e-mail deereid@unc.edu.

Digital Driving: Don't!

2010-01-13T20:31:00.011-05:00

The National Safety Council (NSC) announced on January 12, 2010 that an estimated 1.6 million accidents are caused annually by cell phone use or texting while driving. The NSC's estimates were calculated by statistical analysis of data on driver cell phone use from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and from peer-reviewed research on associated risks. NHTSA data show that 11% of drivers at any one time are using cell phones and another 1% are using their cell phones in ways that include texting. Cell phone use is estimated to increase crash risk fourfold, while texting increases risk eightfold.

Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the NSC, states that:

This new estimate provides critical data for legislators, business leaders and individuals to evaluate the threat and need for legislation, business policies and personal actions to prevent cell phone use and texting while driving. There was great progress made in 2009, particularly regarding a broad recognition that texting is dangerous. We now need the same broad consensus that recognizes cell phone use while driving causes even more crashes.

The NSC web site provides much additional information concerning the risks of cell phone use and texting, including: Cell Phone Fact Sheet; Public Opinion Fact Sheet; Risk Estimate Description; NSC Estimate Summary; and Key Research Studies. See also Distraction.gov, the official US government website for Distracted Driving.

ACLU Sues Library of Congress on Behalf of Former Guantánamo Prosecutor

2010-01-13T20:09:00.004-05:00

On January 8, 2010, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the Library of Congress on behalf of Col. Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for the Guantánamo military commissions, who was terminated from his job at the Library's Congressional Research Service (CRS) because of his of opinion pieces he wrote about the military commissions system. The lawsuit charges that CRS violated Davis's right to free speech and due process when it fired him for speaking as a private citizen about matters having nothing to do with his responsibilities at CRS. [The rest of the ACLU's press release is available here].

Further information about the case as well as the ACLU's complaint are also available online.

2010 Schedule for Rare Book School

2010-01-07T15:17:00.009-05:00

The 2010 course schedule for Rare Book School is now online. Courses will be offered at RBS's home base at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and at several other venues, including the Johns Hopkins University and Walters Art Museum (Baltimore), and (tentatively) at the Freer and Sackler Galleries (Washington, DC) and the Morgan Library and Museum (NYC).

Rare Book School offers a wide array of intensive, seminar-style courses on topics related to the history and production of the book, as well as manuscript and digital materials. Its founding director, Dr. Terry Belanger, won a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005, and retired last year. A profile of Belanger entitled, "The Book Mechanic," appeared recently in the Chronicle of Higher Education (December 6, 2009).

Rare Book School has long enjoyed an excellent reputation for the strength of its faculty and the quality of its instruction. RBS faculty member and papermaker Timothy Barrett, for example, was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2009 (see related Carolina Curator post). On September 1, 2009, Michael Suarez, S.J. succeeded Belanger as Director, and promises to build on the storied legacy of RBS.

Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Announces Research Travel Grant

2010-01-07T14:06:00.003-05:00

The Historical Library of the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University is pleased to announce its third annual research travel grant for use of the Historical Library. The award honors Ferenc A. Gyorgyey, Historical Librarian emeritus.

The Historical Library holds one of the country’s largest collections of rare medical books, journals, prints, photographs, and pamphlets. It was founded in 1941 by the donations of the extensive collections of Harvey Cushing, John F. Fulton, and Arnold C. Klebs. Special strengths are the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Vesalius, Boyle, Harvey, Culpeper, Haller, Priestley, and S. Weir Mitchell, and works on anesthesia, and on inoculation and vaccination for smallpox. The Library owns over fifty medieval and renaissance manuscripts, Arabic and Persian manuscripts, and over 300 medical incunabula. The notable Clements C. Fry Collection of Prints and Drawings has over 2,500 fine prints, drawings, and posters from the 15th century to the present on medical subjects. Although the Historical Library does not house the official archives of the Medical School, it does own a number of manuscript collections, most notably the Peter Parker Collection, papers of Harvey Cushing, and the John Fulton diaries and notebooks. For further information, visit the Historical Library website.

The travel grant is available to historians, medical practitioners, and other researchers who wish to use the collections of the Historical Library. There is a single award of up to $1500 for one week of research during the academic fiscal year 2010-2011 (July1-June 30). Funds may be used for transportation, housing, food, and photographic reproductions. The award is limited to residents of the United States and Canada.

Applicants should send a curriculum vitae and a description of the project including the relevance of the collections of the Historical Library to the project, and two references attesting to the particular project. Preference will be given to applicants beyond commuting distance to the Historical Library. This award is not intended for primary use of special collections in other libraries at Yale. An application form is available online. Applications are due by March 19, 2010. They will be considered by a committee and the candidates will be informed by May 14, 2010.

Ferenc A. Gyorgyey, born in Hungary, emigrated to the United States at the time of the Hungarian Revolution. He received his library degree at Southern Connecticut State University in 1961 and a master’s degree in history from Yale in 1967. Hired by Madeline Stanton as a cataloger in the Historical Library in 1962, he was named Historical Librarian when Miss Stanton retired in 1968. Known for his graciousness, devotion to patrons, a thorough knowledge of the collection, and a remarkable sense of humor, he held this position for 26 years until his retirement in 1994.

Requests for further information should be sent to:

Toby Anita Appel
John R. Bumstead Librarian for Medical History
Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Yale University
P.O. Box 208014
New Haven, CT 06520-8014
Telephone: (203) 785-4354
Fax: (203) 785-5636
E-mail: toby.appel@yale.edu

Open Knowledge Commons To Create Digital Medical Heritage Library

2010-01-06T12:42:00.003-05:00

The Open Knowledge Commons has received a $1.5 million dollar award from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to launch its first major collaborative digitization initiative, a digital Medical Heritage Library project.

The project’s goal is to create a permanent, freely accessible digital library of all published medical heritage literature. This first round of funding will support collaborative digitization of approximately 30,000 volumes of public domain works from the collections of some of the world’s leading medical libraries, including the National Library of Medicine, the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and the New York Public Library.

Future plans for the project foresee the addition of other library partners and the creation of a web site for access to the shared digital collections.

The Open Knowledge Commons (OKC), a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, MA, is dedicated to building a universal digital library for democratic access to information. OKC works to identify, instigate, and secure funding for projects that expand the digital commons and facilitate its use. Working with research libraries, cultural heritage institutions, funders, and their partners, it supports digitization of printed collections, the open availability and use of scanned and born-digital materials, and the long-term preservation of such works.

For more information, contact Maura Marx at maura at knowledgecommons dot org.

Note: This notice is from the Open Knowledge Commons website.

National Library of Medicine Solicits Student Seminar Presentations

2010-01-04T17:50:00.004-05:00

The History of Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Library of Medicine is looking for two US-based graduate students to present their work in its seminar series in August 2010.

Seminars can be on any subject in the histories of health, medicine and the biomedical sciences. Speakers should plan to talk for up to 45 minutes, with an additional 30 minutes for questions. Please send a title, short abstract (200 words max), short CV, and contact details to David Cantor at the address below (email attachment preferred). There is no deadline, but a review of proposals will begin in May 2010, and an announcement of winners will appear on the HMD's seminar webpage.

For further information on the National Library of Medicine's rich historical resources, see the HMD web site.

David Cantor, PhD
Deputy Director
Office of History
National Institutes of Health
Bldg 45, Room 3AN38, MSC 6330
Bethesda, MD 20892-6330

Phone: 301-402-8915 (Direct); 301-496-6610 (Office)
Fax: 301-402-1434
Email: cantord@mail.nih.gov
Webpage: http://history.nih.gov/about/cantor.html

2010 William B. Bean Student Research Award

2010-01-04T09:24:00.003-05:00

The American Osler Society announces the availability of the William B. Bean Student Research Award award for support of research in the broad areas of medical history and medical humanities. Candidates must be currently matriculated students in approved schools of medicine in the United States or Canada. The successful applicant may be eligible to present a paper based on his or her findings at the annual meeting of the American Osler Society. The stipend for the coming year will be $1,500, and up to $750 additional may be available to support travel to the annual meeting contingent on submission of a paper acceptable to the Committee at the conclusion of the studentship.

Selection criteria for the award are as follows:

-- The project should deal with medical history and/or medical humanities;
-- The goal should be stated clearly;
-- The goal should be realistic;
-- The applicant should demonstrate familiarity with the relevant literature;
-- Originality; and
-- Scholarly approach.

A letter of support from a faculty sponsor who will assume responsibility for planning and guidance of the fellowship must accompany the application form, which may be obtained along with further information from:

Paul S. Mueller, MD
Secretary-Treasurer, American Osler Society
The Mayo ClinicMayo Building, West 17
200 First Street, SW
Rochester, Minnesota 55905
(e-mail: mueller.pauls AT mayo.edu)

Completed applications must be received by mail (not by fax or e-mail) by 1 March 2010. Notice of award will be made by 15 May 2010.

Bullitt Club Lecture on the History of Pain Medicine

2010-01-04T09:04:00.005-05:00

The next meeting of UNC's Bullitt History of Medicine Club will be Tuesday, January 19, 2009 at the UNC Health Sciences Library in the 5th Floor Conference Room (527). Please join us at 5:30pm for light refreshments followed by the lecture at 6pm. Meetings are free and open to the public.

Dr. Keith Wailoo, Professor of History at Rutgers, will be presenting a lecture entitled, "Over-Prescribed / Under-Medicated: The History and Cultural Politics of Pain Medicine in America."

Dr. Wailoo is Director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity and Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University. During 2009-10 he is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Princeton University. His work focuses principally on health care politics, the ethnic and racial relations of medicine, and the ways scientific and technological understandings have interacted with politics, society, and culture to shape health experiences, disease disparities, and social responses to disease in the 20th century and into the 21st century.

Dr. Wailoo is also an award-winning author and editor of several books, including The Troubled Dream of Genetic Medicine: Ethnicity and Innovation in Tay-Sachs, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sickle Cell Disease (2006), A Death Retold: Jesica Santillan, The Bungled Transplant, and Paradoxes of Medical Citizenship (2006), Dying in the City of the Blues: Sickle Cell Anemia and the Politics of Race and Health (2001), and Drawing Blood: Technology and Disease Identity in Twentieth-Century America (1997).

For further information about the Bullitt Club, including the schedule for 2009-10 and mp3 recordings of past lectures, please visit the web site.